Hell of a Long Way Home
by My Conviction
Summary: The Underground is where people go for sanctuary, and are quickly planning on taking back what was once theirs. The Key to the rebellion is in their grasp, with the new boy appearing, they can take down the Trilogy. AU Angst, SanoSaitou, KenshinAoshi
1. Chapter One

Notes: More weirdness! I scared myself slightly in this chapter... stupid me!   
  
Warnings: Angst, Sano/Saitou, death, AU  
  
**Hell Of A Long Way Home**  
  
By: Emmy  
  
**Part One**  
  
----------  
  
I sat there for a while, rocking my body back and forth, holding myself for comfort. They were all dead...  
  
Mom...  
  
Dad...  
  
Outa...  
  
Uki...  
  
The rest of my family....  
  
Gone....  
  
The soles of my shoes were covered in the drying blood. I continued to rock back and forth, the smell in my nostrils making me want to throw up.  
  
But I couldn't throw up...  
  
I had already done that...  
  
Excessively so...  
  
I was the only one left... Had the Trilogy killed them?  
  
What had happened!?  
  
My tight ball broke open and I fell into a mass of flesh and bone into the spreading, cool blood around me. I cried, my tears leaking down into the darkening red and warming it momentarily, as if it was alive again...  
  
But it would never be alive... to think that all those blood cells could mean so much to me...  
  
They were soulless husks of humans now, and I was alone.  
  
My sobs continued, and I choked and wiped the blood from my hands, dragging my limbs across my clothing, I just wanted it to go away!  
  
The red, the smell, the... everything!!  
  
I stood up, walking out of the room, I couldn't take it anymore, I could barely move. I had to get away from here; away from the city... even if everything outside the city was a barren wasteland, it was better than being here...  
  
I could stay out there, cry as much as I wanted and then die. Die to join them and get away from this hole in my stomach. I stumbled out the door, and down the stairs.  
  
Everything since then was just a blur of my feet moving themselves of their own accord out into nothingness.  
  
I found a nice little place among the dark winds, tossing the dry dirt everywhere, among the sand, to lie down. There was no grass or green along the ground; it was just a mass of brown and red, the stain from the others that the guards had slain. I huddled into that ball again and cried, letting my sobs and tremors soothe me into a sleep.   
  
I was so tired of it, of everything in my life; it seemed so... desolate.  
  
I remember that when I was younger I told my mom and dad that I was going to grow up and kill the Trilogy. Back then I was so fucking spirited; I don't know what happened to it...  
  
I guess my spirit died when the letters in the mail started telling mom and dad to watch their backs.   
  
Well, that's what they had told me. They never told me just what those letters were about... in fact they told me that they were about taxes for a while, but that traumatized look that burrowed into their faces always told me something differently.  
  
Those letters were something different, but whenever I had tried to find one, I found it burning in the fire: the only thing that warmed our shack of a house. The letters began coming more frequently, and I should have known by then, when I heard noises outside our house like someone was knocking... waiting to get in...  
  
It came every night... a faint tapping at our door, like it was in code.  
  
One knock, at twelve o'clock  
Two taps, waking up from your nap  
Three more, we're settling the score  
Open the door  
Bang  
Knocks no more  
  
It was a simple rhythm that always bothered me, especially when children were singing it in the streets, as happy as can be, not knowing that they were talking about murder. That's how guards of the Trilogy acted, sending letters and then killing. It was a hunt for their enjoyment. I highly doubted that they would be coming after me; it was just a game, and they didn't care how many they killed or relation to their victims, they just killed whoever was there. They probably figured that I would be killing myself... as I was now...  
  
I was too far gone to care... too tired to even know what was going on...  
  
I was lying on the edge of the city, in the desolation that was the outer limits. No one survived beyond this point; you might as well have been walking off the edge of the Earth.   
  
In coughed as I woke up in the midst of all that wind and sand, blowing into my mouth. My side was sore, as if I had been kicked. I looked up to find a figure standing in front of me.   
  
Was it a guard!?  
  
I wanted to scream from the feeling of the dried blood peeling off of my skin. My family's blood was trying to get away from me too... but at the moment I didn't care. I stood up and looked at the man, although I couldn't see anything. He was covered from head to toe in a deep, black garment. Heh, I hadn't seen a cape like that since I was a child, reading comic books about desert heroes with the capes and shit.  
  
His cloak was pulled tightly around him, and I squinted as some of the flying dust blew into my sore eyes. I must have been dehydrated from all the fucking crying I had done. He gestured for me to follow him.  
  
What? Did he need a better angle to shoot me from?  
  
"What the hell do you want!?" I spat at him, my voice dry and cracking.  
  
He continued to walk.  
  
But I couldn't blame him. I couldn't even hear myself over the wind out here.   
  
Fine, I would follow, but only until I decided to stop.  
  
I walked, barely being able to see him in the blowing dust. It was like a snowstorm; but I hadn't seen snow in seven years. Where were we going? Had I actually made it this far out?  
  
Everywhere I looked there was more sand.  
  
Even if I couldn't see much, I knew that we were nowhere near the city...  
  
If we were this far out... why was he here?  
  
This didn't make sense to me...  
  
I frowned and continued to walk, my feet pacing relatively quickly as I tried to catch up with the slowly vanishing figure. I stopped as he did, and shuddered. I was so cold... it was so cold in the wind.  
  
I felt like shit all the way around.  
  
I squinted as I saw a little shack. So that was where he was going...  
  
He turned to the shack walked quickly into the front door.  
  
I followed and looked around confused.  
  
The man paused and brushed the sand off of his black cloak.  
  
This shack was no more than five feet long and six feet wide; the ceiling couldn't have been more than six feet as well. It was a room with a rug. I felt cowed, but I was beyond caring. This shack was made of concrete, and nothing inside it was damaged. I was standing close enough to the man to feel his heavy breaths upon my skin.  
  
Heavy?   
  
All he had been doing was walking.  
  
He pulled the cloak off, and under it was a gallon or two of water and food, along with bags upon bags of other little things strapped to his belt.  
  
So he had a reason for being breathless. What the hell did he want with me?  
  
He pulled his hood off too and I was struck by his golden eyes. He looked like some kind of wolf.   
  
"What were you doing out there?" He asked gruffly and I shuddered.   
  
"I was..."   
  
I couldn't continue.  
  
"Who are you?" Was his next question.  
  
"Sanosuke." I stated, and he didn't press for a last name.  
  
"You're a civilian, right?" He asked, as he knelt down to the floor.  
  
I nodded.  
  
"And you want sanctuary, right?"  
  
Sanctuary? Was that a fancy way of saying death?  
  
Either way, I nodded and he pulled on the corner of the rug, revealing a passage.  
  
My eyes widened as he pulled the trap door, hinges squeaking loudly.  
  
He gestured to the passage way and I froze. "Go down."  
  
I looked into the entrance and shook my head. It was pitch black, and the smell from down there seemed like a death trap.  
  
"Why not?" He asked, glaring at me.  
  
"I don't know who you are! You may be trying to rape me, for all I know!" I shouted, on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  
  
"Yes, but unless you want to die out there, I suggest you head down and find out." He replied sarcastically.   
  
I gulped. Well, even if he were trying to kill me, it wouldn't matter. That was what I had been trying to do too, so either way I won, with nothing left to lose.  
  
I walked over to the entrance slowly and gripped my hands along the cold steel of the bars, which bit me as I began to inch my way down the rungs. I moved down, now unable to see and I continued. I looked above me as my last light disappeared and the man's feet clicked down the rungs above me. The noise was encouraging me to hurry before he stepped on my stiff hands. My shoulders ached as I continued.  
  
How many rungs had I passed?  
  
The number seemed endless, and right now the only thing that I could say for certain was that the smell that lingered was getting stronger and stronger, and I couldn't see anything.  
  
If I let go, how far would I go before hitting the ground?  
  
Would I ever reach the bottom?  
  
Was there a bottom, or was this ladder something that continued on only a little while longer before turning into a hole that threw me off into a depth that never ended? Would I just keep falling and falling until I died of starvation?  
  
My thoughts were cut off as my feet fell off of the ladder.  
  
I screamed.   
  
I had reached the end of the rungs on the ladder, but the ground was no where in sight.  
  
"Sanosuke, it's all right, just below you is water. I'm asking you to drop down and tread water until I get there, can you do that?" The man's voice asked.  
  
It was pitch black! I wouldn't be able to tell which way was up to the surface if I dropped down. "I can't! I can't see anything... I haven't swum in forever!" I said, trying desperately to calm my voice.  
  
"Trust me."   
  
He said two, simple words, and for some reason I wanted to.  
  
"I... fine." I finished and let go, as my body went stiff.  
  
I dropped completely unaware of what was around me, and then heard a loud splash.  
  
I was engulfed in an intangible surrounding of freezing water. I was submerged, my lungs crying for air as I held my breath and began to head back for the surface. I reached the surface, and then realized something that I hadn't been ready for.  
  
A current pulling me down stream.  
  
"Hurry!" I shouted to the man, but before I could even finish the word I heard a loud splash next to me. I shuddered as I felt myself being pulled further and further down, trying to stay above the water; the cold, tinged liquid filling my mouth. It was like I was in a dream, blind to everything but the feeling of what was going on around me.  
  
"Sanosuke? Say something so I can swim to you," I heard his voice calmly over the currently.  
  
"Hurry, please... I'm freezing and if your gonna rape me I would prefer you got it over with!" I shouted over mouthfuls of water, trying to think of something, anything to say.  
  
I felt a hand clamp down on my wrist and pull me along, my body only working now to keep me afloat.  
  
The next thing I knew was me up land, and riding on this mystery man's back. I was stiff from so many things, and my heart ached more than anything. I pulled myself closer to the warm flesh so close to me. I frowned as I noticed where my foot was.  
  
He was still carrying all those supplies? With me on his back?  
  
He could swim and drag me along with all those supplies?  
  
That was fucking amazing.  
  
His footsteps were steady and fast, and I could see through my blurred eyes a faint light in the distance.  
  
How far underground were we?  
  
I didn't care; I was not in the mood for thinking. I took in a deep breath, and as we neared the light, I asked him one question.  
  
"What's your name?" It was so limp it barely came out as a question, more like an incoherent thought that mistakenly pushed through my lips.  
  
"Hajime."  
  
"Hm, do you have a last name?"   
  
"Do you?"  
  
"Yeah, but I want to forget it..."  
  
"I know the feeling. My name is Hajime Saitou."  
  
I frowned. Why did that sound so familiar? I pulled closer, muttering to myself again, "I'm cold..."  
  
"When we arrive I'll get you some dry clothes."  
  
Another few footsteps and moments.  
  
"Where are we going 'Jime?" I asked limply.  
  
"The Underground."  
  
"I coulda told ya that... where underground?"  
  
"The Underground." He answered again, stiffly.  
  
Fine, be a stubborn asshole.  
  
I didn't push it any further, but it wasn't much longer until the tunnel of darkness ended, and everything I was lit up. I closed my eyes and slipped into sleep. All I wanted right then was to escape one last time. I didn't know what awaited me when I woke up, but it would be there, come what may.   
  
It's not like it really mattered anymore.  
  
-------------  
  
End of part one 


	2. Chapter Two

Notes: Hm, the length on these parts is really gonna jump around, because the parts complete themselves alone... I'm just volunteering the fingers ;;   
  
Warnings: Violence, AU, future Sano/Saitou, angst, slight ick-factor  
  
**Hell Of A Long Way Home**  
  
By: Emmy  
  
**Part Two**  
  
-------------------  
  
It was an underground city... and as Hajime had explained to me along the way (after finally drilling it into my head) this was The Underground. It was a formal title. Oppressed people gathered and lived down here without the Trilogy knowing about their existence. I looked around, and for once...   
  
... people looked happy...  
  
I had never seen that in my life. My parents pretended to be happy, but I knew better.  
  
They were living in hell, just like the rest of the people outside.  
  
I frowned as I looked around, still being carried by Hajime. I didn't bother to feel helpless; I wasn't, but I didn't really feel like I wanted to walk. I was feeling numb, as was my body as a whole. I think that was why Hajime was carrying me.  
  
It was pure luck that I had been on the trail he was taking to get here. If I hadn't been, I would be dead by now...  
  
But I really wasn't sure if being alive was better.  
  
I guess, in the long run, normal human morals would have told me that I was doing the right thing by staying alive. I would have tried to argue, but I felt like I didn't have the right to.  
  
We walked (well... he walked and I rode) through the market place and towards a larger building. All the houses were about as big as the little carts set up for food, but it was a happy existence. We entered the building (this one had an actual door, the others just had flaps) and I looked around, hearing the running of water again. Although this house was darker than market outside, it was as sufficiently lit throughout, as was The Underground as a whole.  
  
We passed through about three doors until we reached one small home. As we did, two men inside the room looked around to find who had come. Hajime nodded a greeting and set me down on a low-lying futon. "Get undressed, those clothes will give you hypothermia if you're not careful," he warned and I blushed slightly. Get dressed in front of three people that I haven't known for three minutes?! But he was right...  
  
I hesitantly pulled the sopping shirt from my body and looked back up at Hajime. "Where do you want me to put it?" I asked carefully and he extended a hand.  
  
I handed the article of clothing over and slowly pulled my pants off, turning my back to him. Against my better judgment, I pulled everything off, and handed it to him. He tossed me a blanket that I quickly covered up with. I looked over at the two men sitting at a desk, watching us interact.  
  
One had long, bushy, red hair tied back into a tight braid. His eyes were friendly, but there was no smile on his face. The man next to him was much, much taller. His raven hair was slicked down, although a few loose strands hung down in his face (but they weren't as long as Hajime's). His eyes were cold and indifferent, but really, really deep and of an ice blue color. I looked over the uniforms they were wearing with a frown. They were Underground officers.   
  
Was Hajime an officer as well?  
  
Hajime took his cloak off and quickly unloaded the goods he had. How could he feed a civilization of this many?  
  
I knew that they had a water supply, but was that it?  
  
Hajime had been carrying food... but it wasn't enough to feed a group like this.  
  
Hajime handed over the bags to the taller of the other two officers and stated, "These are the newest crops in season above ground. Start planting the seeds and see if the scientists can manipulate this kind of meat to feed the people."  
  
Well, that answered my question.  
  
"How was it above ground?" The red-haired man asked quickly, after looking over the new goods.  
  
"Dusty. The desert is beginning to fill in the outskirts with sand. It may be a little harder to find the Empire next time if we don't have the outskirts to recognize." Hajime stated somberly, looking between the three of us.  
  
"And who's this young man?" Shorty asked, pointing at me. I guess he was the more vocal of the guards, the tall one hadn't said anything yet.  
  
"His name is Sanosuke. I found him in the middle of the desert."  
  
"Why was he there?"  
  
Gee, why didn't they ask me instead of acting like I wasn't there?  
  
"I think that should remain his own business. All I know is that he's not working for the Trilogy; he's just an innocent civilian that needs shelter." Hajime told them quickly.  
  
The redhead walked up to me and extended a hand, "My name is Kenshin Himura. Code name Battousai."   
  
I took the hand and shook it. He reached up to his ear and I cocked my head.  
  
He pressed down on an earring hook pierced into the top of his ear and I heard a series of simultaneous clicking along the area of his temple region. His eyes flashed from violet to gold for a split second and then he smiled.  
  
"Your ID is all green, and your family recently passed away? I'm sorry to hear that." He said, but his voice seemed to remain in a calm tone, like he was reporting the news.  
  
I frowned, what had he just done?  
  
Hajime must have noticed my reaction, because he quickly spoke up, "Battousai is a cyborg. He just used one of his resources to make sure that I was doing what I was supposed to be doing."  
  
"Cyborg?" I echoed. "Does that mean he's like... a robot or something?"  
  
"No, a robot is fully mechanical. He's a human with a lot of machine attributes and advancements. More than half of the organs in his body are mechanical because of all the fights he's been in. But I can't say that I've gotten off unharmed either." He stated calmly, sitting down next to the taller one.  
  
"And who's that man?" I asked gesturing over to the only man I didn't know about yet.  
  
"That's Aoshi Shinomori, code name Kodachi," Hajime answered quickly, looking over some papers on the desk.  
  
Kenshin approached me again and knelt down. "You have a fever of 101.3424. We need to get it down."  
  
I blinked.  
  
"Damn, you're a pretty good mom too, huh? Multi-service robot, huh? Go get me some pizza!" I laughed at the robot-man.  
  
Kenshin frowned and stood up.  
  
I heard Hajime chuckling from behind. "He's not a maid. He's human."   
"Whatever," I grinned. This guy was just as good as a robot.  
  
I froze.  
  
My eyes widened as I doubled over in pain, gasping for breath.   
  
My body was on fire...!  
  
It hurt... inside... so much...  
  
Kenshin placed a hand on my shoulder as I bit back a scream. I could hear the scooting of a chair as Hajime stood up.  
  
I began to cough... but with every cough liquid poured out of me... red and black... like a checkerboard of blood...  
  
I didn't know what it was... it hurt.  
  
I screamed and slammed my arms along the cold floor. I felt something... something coming up my throat slowly...  
  
Something creeping... up... scratching along my esophagus and drawing blood into my mouth. It burned and ached... moving at the back of my throat... I had been coughing and hacking up until now... but as it tore at my damp flesh I threw up, not able to take any more.  
  
I wanted it out!! Now!!  
  
I threw up something more... something moving ... squirming on the floor...  
  
It was moving around in circles with it's long, blood covered legs groping desperately for something to hold onto...   
  
I watched it as it looked up to me, three eyes watching me. I felt faint... everything still burned...  
  
I gripped at my throat... that had been inside me!?   
  
How!?  
  
Why did it choose now to come out!?  
  
There as a tearing pain inside my throat, and in my stomach... like it had tore its way up to get out...  
  
I heard a clang of a metal bowl slam against the floor. I looked as Hajime held the bowl to the floor, holding whatever had crawled out of me under it. I looked desperately around the room...  
  
It hurt...  
  
It hurt...  
  
Kenshin stood up; I could only follow him by the sound of his footsteps.  
  
He knelt back down with a flask of something. He held the flack of cloudy whitish blue liquid to my mouth. "It'll numb it..." he stated.  
  
I grabbed it, and swallowed it down quickly, eyes watering from the overwhelming sensation that... thing... had slit in my body.  
  
A whimper escaped my mouth as the feeling slowly dripped away. I looked at the floor with horrified eyes.  
  
"What... the fuck...was that...!?!" I demanded, blood still flowing freely into my mouth. Kenshin placed a finger on my mouth as he clicked once again on his ear cuff, looking toward the bowl covering that thing....  
  
...scraping...  
  
... at the bowl from the inside.  
  
I shuddered and watched as Hajime struggled to hold it down.  
  
Hajime Saitou.  
  
Who had single-handedly saved me, carried me everywhere and drug me through that river without any trouble.  
  
This man was having trouble hold this... thing... down... something that was inside of me...  
  
I closed my eyes until I heard Kenshin's voice speak up.  
  
His voice was low and shaky, this was an emotion that I hadn't heard from him... he seemed so indifferent all the time... after all... he was a robot...  
  
"It's not in my animal data bank..."  
  
"Then look under machines." Hajime snapped as the room was filled with the sound of the metal scratching of the creature under the metal bowl.  
  
Kenshin nodded, eyes a little wider than I would have liked them to be as a small metal leg created a small hole in the bowl, I could see small sparks shooting from inside the bowl.  
  
"It's -- it's still not registering."  
  
Aoshi stalked over to the bowl quickly and placed a gun to the top, pulling the trigger quickly, sending the bullet though the creature and into the floor.  
  
The room was silent for a moment.  
  
No more scratching.  
  
Hajime hesitantly looked down beneath the bowl to see a crumbled little mass that used to be alive. It was bleeding oil, in two shades, all over the floor.  
  
I looked at my lap, I had bled that too... it was everywhere...  
  
I felt faint again.  
  
Aoshi frowned, looking over the little corpse.  
  
"It's a Key."  
  
"A Key?" Kenshin echoed, looking down at the corpse.  
  
"A Key is a device chosen ones are born with... they say that these people are the ones with superior abilities, intelligence, and physique. These people are born to lead. It's just what they have been given the ability to do. In times of crisis the Keys are supposed to come out and led the way for those who bore the Keys. The Trilogy are all people that were born with Keys." He finished and I stood there in shock.  
  
That thing... was supposed to signify that I was going to be something great?  
  
"The Key gives people superior strength... but only some people can use it..."  
  
I looked down once more in the midst of all that black and red. "What happens if it's dead...?"  
  
"It's not dead. The only way a Key can die is if its master dies."  
  
"But what the fuck was that thing trying to do to me!?"  
  
"Give you strength," Hajime supplied, looking me over.   
  
Easy for him to say...  
  
"But now that it's out... we can only hold it until it comes back to life..." Aoshi's eyes wandered over me. "Are you the chosen one that will bring down the Trilogy?"  
  
My mouth was dry... what the hell was I supposed to say...?  
  
---------  
  
End of part two 


	3. Chapter Three

Notes: Yay!! I'm still poking at the plot! And 'tis fun!!   
  
Warnings: Future Sano/Saitou, angst, weirdness, AU  
  
**Hell of a Long Way Home**  
  
By: Emmy  
  
**Part Three**  
  
-----------------  
  
I lay on my back, in Hajime's chambers, looking up at the broken ceiling. This was hard; really, really hard to accept. Was I some kind of fucking messiah? They hadn't really treated me that way, but then, they wouldn't have anyway. It was just the way that I saw it. I frowned and rolled over to my side. Nothing was making sense anymore...  
  
"Hajime?" I asked, quietly.  
  
"Hm?" he answered, looking over some reports.  
  
"So I will have to get a new room soon?"  
  
"As soon as you're better."  
  
To be honest, I really didn't want to leave. He was the only familiar person here, and I felt comfortable with him. My insides were torn up, and I already had had some stuff wrong with me before then. It would probably take a while for me to get better; so I was going to be here for a while anyway.... I shouldn't worry about this now.  
  
"How long has The Underground existed?" I asked in a low, melancholic voice. I was trying to start up some kind of conversation, just to hear Hajime speak... just to know that he was there and that I wasn't alone.  
  
He sighed, and I turned over to watch him as he spoke.   
  
If I could see him, then I knew that I was truly here with him, and that his voice wasn't a figment of my imagination... because, for some reason, lately, I needed to see things that were tangible to be all right...  
  
I didn't want to be alone.  
  
"It was a while ago, actually..." he paused and put some more thought into his monologue.  
  
"It had to be about seventeen years ago when it started... but sometimes it doesn't feel that long. Battousai, Kodachi and I began this project when we were guards of the people under our leader, Ohkubou. When he died, the masses who were still unaffected by the Trilogy fell to pieces and we had to think of something to do fast. You know the desert outside is slowly eating away at The City... seventeen years ago, the three of us remembered this underground cavern to be a place of refuge for travelers. But people had to stop using it as the desert swallowed it whole."  
  
I remained frozen to my spot as I watched him think, trying to find the correct phrase, like everything he was saying to me was unlocking a deep, dark secret... but in a way it was.  
  
He tapped his pencil on the table as he continued, a frown deeply engraved into his expression.  
  
"In our state of chaos, Battousai scanned his memory bank for an area where the people could seek refuge. That was when we remembered this place. It was known as Guarna, and we were lucky to find it. Battousai's records weren't even sure if it had truly existed, or if the weight of the mud and earth had crushed it. We took off, telling the people that we, Ohkubou's last remaining guards, would look for a place to stay. We walked for more than a week in the blinding desert, and finally came to the area where the cavern was located..."  
  
They had traveled into the desert and made it back... they were the ones who found this place...?  
  
There had to be something more to these guys than what they had told me...  
  
"The only reason that we knew where it was was because of the sounds of crashing water over the desert winds. We dug a hole down into the area which is only accessible by that shack that we visited yesterday. That's the only way in... and out, if you can get past the river and other traps that you slept through."  
  
I interrupted as there was a lull in his story.  
  
"Where does that river lead?"  
  
He looked almost startled to my question. He even hesitated.  
  
"Well?" I persisted.  
  
Another hesitation.  
  
"If you go upstream it will circle around the city."  
  
Wouldn't that mean that you could access The Underground through other means? But who would look to go down a river like that... maybe that's how convicts got here... how would they have gotten all those people through the desert otherwise, and past the river... they could have carried everyone over like Hajime had me... but that would have been impossible...  
  
How had they gotten people into this city...?  
  
What was downstream if they missed the drop off point?  
  
"What about downstream?"  
  
"The edge of heaven."  
  
"Excuse me?!" I demanded.  
  
He took in another deep breath, no doubt this one was going do be a long story as well.  
  
"You know that when the Trilogy took over, the universe became a completely chaotic place. The galaxy melded and turned this into the center of the world. Indeed, heaven and hell are supposed to be... theoretical places, but we found out through Ohkubou, that heaven and hell indeed existed. They were directly linked to the edge of this world. What people don't know is, the thing that keeps the winds in the desert blowing is the fact that there is nothing beyond those winds. The winds are being pushed along by a great nothingness influenced by hell. Once the city is eaten up by those winds completely, within a decade the nothingness will take over and we will cease to exist. Everything will be eaten by that great nothingness.  
  
"If you continue down this river, you will pass through nothing, which is the edge of heaven."  
  
My heart nearly stopped.   
  
I had been in that river going downstream...  
  
I suddenly felt fucking scared to death, reliving that memory...  
  
I was completely in the dark...  
  
How many people were killed that way...?  
  
How many people were going to die that way...?  
  
"And that's why we are going to have to move this peaceful city soon if we want to save the people from disappearing..." He trailed off.  
  
This was too fucking much...  
  
"You have to be fucking kidding me..."  
  
"Sanosuke. You asked, remember that much."  
  
I stood up and walked over to him slowly, clenching the blanket around me even tighter.  
  
"Is there anyway to stop that...?!" I demanded.  
  
He nodded, "Why do you think we're trying so desperately to get rid of the Trilogy?"  
  
"So that's why..." I trailed off, my knees buckling. I didn't fall to the ground, even so. Warm arms caught me.  
  
I looked up to the ceiling, a faint wetness glazing my eyes over.  
  
"Hajime... we..."  
  
"You may be that chance we're looking for." He stated carefully.  
  
That key... my body that had produced the key...  
  
"Shit... I'm scared." I admitted all at once, latching onto Hajime's chest as he sat back down, me seated on his lap. He remained impassive as he let me sob, staining his shirt with my tears. I looked at his shirt and froze as I noticed the blood there.  
  
I pulled back abruptly, gripping my hands to my face to see what was bleeding now. My vision was clouded by red.  
  
My fingers dipped into that trail of tears, and as I pulled my fingers away, across the tips was a red tinged substance.  
  
My tears were blood...?  
  
"Hajime..." I spoke carefully, hoping desperately that he would tell me what was going on now.  
  
He looked at me carefully, or at least I think he did, my heart ached and more of that red poured from my eyes as I tried to choke back more sobs.  
  
His hand stroked along my cheek carefully, brushing the trailing blood away. I was bleeding all over him... but he didn't seem to care.  
  
"What the fuck is wrong with me...!?!" I shouted, wanting an answer, any answer... when did all this start, when would it end!? Why was this all happening to me at once!? I couldn't take this!! I just couldn't...!!  
  
"Nothing is wrong with you. You are the chosen one." His voice coaxed; I was squeezing my eyes shut tightly, wanting that smell... the smell that had lingered on the corpses of my parents, to leave... damnit... leave!!!  
  
"What are you talking about!?! Everything is wrong! My body is in shambles, I threw up some kind of mechanical bug that grew inside me and now I'm crying blood! How the fuck could there not be anything wrong!?!" I demanded, not bothering to choke back my cries anymore.  
  
I openly wept and buried my face in his shirt once again.  
  
"This is hard for you, I know. But you're still alive and you're the one person who will be able to lead the people of this city to freedom and live. Without you, they will all die when the Trilogy brutally murders them, like your family, or when the desert swallows them whole." He admonished harshly.  
  
I shook my head, "How the hell can you just tell me that!? How the hell am I supposed to believe that!? What the fuck am I supposed to do!?" I spat back, rivaling his harsh tone rather well.  
  
Hajime shuffled around on his desk and grabbed something.   
  
The next thing I felt was a cool cloth on my face, wiping away the blood.  
  
"Get yourself together. It's all right to cry, but I'm only going to be here for you this once. This is the only time that I'm going to allow you to cry over this situation. This is your last chance to feel sorry for yourself, do you understand?" He asked, gently patting the tears away from the bottom of my swollen eyelids.  
  
I frowned. I guess that made sense. But how could he just say that?! He had no idea how this hurt me...  
  
But if this was my only chance, I was going to make good on it.  
  
I spent the rest of the night crying on his shoulder and thanking god for his arms embracing me...  
  
If he hadn't been there then there would have been nothing keeping me from jumping in that river and drowning myself to the edge of heaven.  
  
---------  
  
End of part three 


	4. Chapter Four

Notes: This one was not disturbing in the least! I'm so proud of myself!   
  
Warnings: Sano/Saitou (slight) AU, angst  
  
**Hell of a Long Way Home**  
  
By: Emmy  
  
**Part Four**  
  
--------------------  
  
I woke up early the next morning... but there was no sun streaming through my window. It was just the artificial light flowing from the city. I could hear the rushing water of the river loudly; was this building near it? What would happen if someone fell into the river...? I'm sure that people had... but what would...  
  
I had to stop thinking...  
  
My hand moved up to my cheek as I yawned and stretched out. I grimaced at the blood caking the edges of my eyes... but most of it was gone... I had fallen asleep crying on Hajime's shoulder. He must have wiped the blood away from my face... it was only clotting in the corners of my eyes...  
  
It was dry, itchy and scratchy.  
  
I frowned and looked around the room. I was alone...  
  
I felt so weak...  
  
Losing blood through my sorrows would probably do that to me...   
  
All the more reason for me to keep my tears inward. And Hajime had told me that last night would be the only time he would let me cry like that... He had been there for me, but there had been something terribly cold in his voice that I couldn't place... He probably thought that I was a crying baby, doing nothing but feeling sorry for myself...  
  
I admit that I was...  
  
But I was also stronger than that.  
  
I was going to show him just how strong I could be...  
  
I was going to do it in case his image of me was of that whimpering child...  
  
I was going to make sure that his image of me was something that I wanted him to see.  
  
I stood up, my body still aching: my throat hurt so much... my body did as well, but I pushed that away, not bothering to even worry about the pain. I looked around, noticing that my clothes were gone. Well... they weren't really clothes anyway... they had been torn, mangled and blood stained... but right now I was feeling a little self-conscious waltzing around Hajime's living quarters stark naked...  
  
I shook my head and told myself to get over it.  
  
"Hajime?" I called in a hoarse voice, walking around a little bit more.  
  
"He's not in right now, he walked over to the irrigation sector of The Underground to give the scientists there what he found from the above ground." A voice answered, as a body walked into my path with a smile. It was that robot...  
  
"What are you doing in here?"  
  
"Saitou told me that you would probably need assistance when you got up, that he did." The redhead smiled at me, and looked me over for a moment.  
  
I glared, "Hey, robot, eyes off the merchandise."  
  
He blushed slightly and handed me some clothes. They looked simple enough. A loose T-shirt and a pair of faded, gray sweatpants. I took them and quickly pulled them over my body. He continued to watch me and I frowned. "What is it, robot? See something that you like?"  
  
He shook his head, slightly flushed again, "I'm just entering in all your data! You are so tactless!"  
  
I grinned, "Not my problem."  
  
"Well, you certainly are in a better mood today. What happened last night that has you so happy?"  
  
It was my turn to blush slightly, "None of your business!"  
  
"I was just wondering," he said innocently. "And now I will show you around, if that's all right with you. Have the painkillers been working OK?"  
  
I shrugged my shoulders with a grunt, "I guess so... but I feel like shit all the way around."  
  
"That doesn't surprise me in the least..."  
  
"What happened to that key thing?" I asked suddenly interested, looking at Kenshin as he began to dig through Saitou's desk drawers. For some reason I didn't think that he was supposed to do that....  
  
"Aoshi is taking are of that."  
  
"Hmm... so what exactly am I supposed to do with that thing...?"  
  
"I need to find information about that, that I do."  
  
"How the hell are you going to find out that information? Go to the Trilogy and request a pass to their library?" I asked cockily.  
  
He shot me a glare, "Sanosuke, never speak of the Trilogy here. Ever. Do I make myself clear?" His voice was so low and deadly... I had to admit that he was scaring me shitless.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so," I had to answer flippantly if I wanted him to respect me. I wasn't scared... too much...  
  
I guess his reasoning made sense. Some of these people had never heard of the Trilogy. Most had forgotten. They wanted to keep it that way...   
  
I couldn't stand that. I couldn't live in ignorance. It just wasn't something that I could do to myself. I had to... I had to know just what could hurt me. I wouldn't want to be left in the dark like that... I hated being left in the dark.  
  
"Sano? Follow me." The robot said quickly, gesturing for me to follow him. I did, looking around as he led me out into the bright lights of the city. People here were so happy... I wasn't going to disrupt their happiness.  
  
My happiness was another story. Hajime had pretty much ruined any chance of me being happy. But if someone's happiness need to be sacrificed, I was fine with it being mine. We walked around the city for what seemed to be forever. That was, until we came to an abrupt stop right along a long, extensive plain of land. Everything here was climate controlled, I could feel that much as I entered the area.  
  
The plants were grown in humid conditions and I could feel the surface of my skin becoming slick with sweat. I ran a hand absently through my hair and looked around as Kenshin stopped.   
  
"What now?" I asked quickly, and then added under my breath, "afraid your wires are gonna rust, robot?"  
  
"No, everything that involves wiring and metal parts is internal and constructed for moisture." He replied smoothly and I groaned.  
  
Damned robot.  
  
"Battousai? What is Sanosuke doing here?" Aoshi asked as he caught my presence. The thing that caught my attention was the fact that Hajime was standing right next to him with a clipboard and weary expression on his face.   
  
I hopped right over there, trying desperately to lose Kenshin. He was just too damned annoying. It's not like I was intimidated by a robot watching and critiquing my every move...it's just that his presence was a little bit...unnerving.  
  
"What are you up to, 'Jime?" I asked quickly, shooting him a smile.  
  
He raised an eyebrow, but I wasn't sure if it was questioning the nickname or the fact that I was in a good mood.  
  
"'Jime?" He questioned as he shifted his gaze back down to the little clipboard he was holding.  
  
I had no idea why I called him that, but it just rolled off of my tongue so easily. I nodded, and looked across the field of, what looked to be, vegetables.   
  
For a moment, I was unsure about what to say, so I settled on an almost coy, "I just want to thank you for being there for me last night, you know?"  
  
"There's no need to thank me. What's done is over and all we need to do is move on, wouldn't you say?"  
  
"I was just letting you know that it meant a lot to me," I said, trying to be honest and polite.  
  
"Hm, I see."  
  
"Hey! I'm being serious!" I spat back; his impassive nature was really starting to get to me. Although being loud and in his face might not the best way to earn his respect, it was the only thing that I really felt like doing here.   
  
"I don't doubt that."  
  
I glared and walked out in front of him with my arms crossed. "And here I thought I might actually admire you. You're nothing but a prick! You know that?!"  
  
Yeah, great, Sanosuke. Insulting him will really, really work.  
  
He didn't really seem to mind, but I never thought that he would. Unlike me last night, it didn't seem like he was just going to break down into tears at any given moment.   
  
"So what are you doing?" I asked, trying pretty hard to change the subject so I didn't keep moving my mouth to a point of him completely hating me. With me, it was entirely possible, so I was trying really, really hard not to do anything like that...  
  
"We're having trouble with the fields...apparently...due to unforeseeable circumstances, the river is drying up, like something is sucking at it to a point of draining it...we don't have enough water to keep the fields growing and that means that these people starve." His voice was calm, even if there was a tinge of worry and uneasiness in it.  
  
But who the hell wouldn't be uneasy? This was the first sign of this oncoming Apocalypse, and we all knew it.   
  
"Is it the...?" I drew out my sentence, hoping that he would catch my hint.  
  
He shook his head.  
  
"No, it's being drained from the city... but I don't understand just how it's being drained." His voice touched even more on a slightly darker emotion than worry. That bothered me.   
  
"You have absolutely no idea about what's happening?" I asked, leaning a bit closer to him unconsciously, scanning over the papers clipped to that board.  
  
"I think this is something that we're going to have to investigate." He grudgingly admitted.  
  
"Investigate? Like, how investigate? Like, you investigate, or Kenshin and Aoshi investigate?"  
  
"Myself."   
  
It was a simple enough statement, but I had to disagree.   
  
"Why can't Kenshin and Aoshi go? Are you always the errand boy?"  
  
"I know the city better than they do. I also blend in more then they do."  
  
I had to admit that much was true. One was terribly tall with piecing blue eyes and the other had bright orange hair. Not the best for an undercover mission.  
  
"Could I come with you?" I asked quickly, receiving an equally quick, "No."  
  
"Why not!?"  
  
"Because you need to train with Battousai." He said it so smoothly.  
  
Wait...Train with the robot?  
  
"Train with Kenshin? When did we decide on this one?!" I shot rapidly, and then realized that I was pressed against his arm.  
  
I pulled away hurriedly, blushing slightly and groaned inwardly. Great, just what I need: him thinking that I have a little crush on him. Although I may have already come off as that...  
  
"We talked it over last night after you fell asleep. You're the most valuable person here. You can save us all. We need to train you. You can't be sent off on small, petty missions like finding out why the river is drying up. We need you here."  
  
I didn't want to believe that. I wanted to help 'Jime out. Why wouldn't he just let me?!  
  
"Damnit, Hajime! You will let me go! I want to go! I will go!"  
  
"No, you won't, ahou. Believe me."  
  
I shook my head viciously. "I will! When are you leaving!?"   
  
He groaned and then stated quickly, "Right now. But you are not coming."  
  
"Who says?! I am coming and there's nothing that you can do about it!" I shouted back at him.  
  
He leaned down and my breath caught in my throat. "I may not do anything, but the Battousai will forcefully hold you here, and you won't leave." To finish off his statements, his lips collided with mine in a kiss to seal that promise.  
  
It was so brief, but I was too frozen in shock to do anything. I stood there as he retreated, a faint blush painted on my cheeks. I stayed there until Kenshin retrieved me, and he was already gone...  
  
Damn unpredictability!  
  
---------------------  
  
End of part four 


	5. Chapter Five

Notes: Wahh! 'Jime's still gone! But he'll be back soon, promise A new character makes their appearance! Buahah!  
  
Warnings: AU, angst, violence, future Sano/Saitou  
  
**Hell of a Long Way Home**  
  
By: Emmy  
  
**Part Five**  
  
----------------  
  
I paced around restlessly at first. It had been more than a week and no one had heard from Hajime. Yes, I was worried. Who wouldn't be worried about something like this? I was... scared to death for him. I didn't know that much about him... in fact I knew nothing at all. The robot was watching me... and my pacing, assuring me that Hajime was fine.   
  
I kept telling myself that he was fine... he had to be. He was just... scouting things out. But the non-rational part of my brain was yelling at me.  
  
There are Trilogy people everywhere!  
  
He's done it before...  
  
But you don't know how many times he's just escaped by the skin of his teeth!  
  
Enough times to know what he's doing. He'll be fine.  
  
What if he's not?  
  
The internal debate continued and I gripped my head in frustration, rocking slightly.  
  
"Are you all right, Sanosuke? You should try to eat something..."  
  
"I'm not hungry!" I snapped and groaned at the aching in my throat. It still hurt... and I hated it...  
  
"What's wrong, Sanosuke? Why are you so worried about Saitou? He'll be fine. He always has been. This kind of work is mere child's play to him. Don't worry about it."  
  
"How do I know that?! You could be telling me that to get me to shut up!" I spat back with a glare.  
  
"You're acting like a child," Kenshin expelled softly, lulling his head onto the desk.  
  
I glared, "What? Is that when your computer program is telling you?"  
  
"Sanosuke. You shouldn't disrespect Battousai," that Aoshi guy stated. That was the only thing I had heard out of his mouth all week...  
  
Hit too close to home, huh?  
  
Whatever. I didn't care. This was just so fucking stupid... when was he supposed to get back? He just left like that without a word to anyone and...?  
  
"Did he say anything about when he would be getting back?" I asked somberly, looking in the general direction of Aoshi and Kenshin.   
  
Kenshin shook his head.  
  
"When does he usually get back?"  
  
"That depends on the mission."  
  
"What about in this case?"  
  
"We have no way of determining it."  
  
I groaned and glared at the two, standing to my feet and heading for the door.  
  
"Sanosuke? Where are you going?"  
  
"Out. I need some fresh air. Maybe something to eat."  
  
"Do you need any money?" Kenshin asked and I chuckled to myself.  
  
"Hajime gave me money before he left."  
  
-----------------  
  
I walked down the market aisles; everyone's faces looked the same. But that was all right. These faces were happy faces. Whenever I was a little depressed, I could head out into the market to see their happy, smiling faces. I was so glad that some people were actually happy with this place. I didn't know why, but somewhere inside me, I felt like this wasn't how life was really supposed to turn out to be.   
  
I felt as if the Trilogy's rise to power had been some kind of a mistake.   
  
A mistake that was never going to be corrected and eventually ruin the world.  
  
Ha, wasn't I in a good mood today?  
  
"Sir! Sir!" A voice called and I spun around to a woman crouched at my feet. Her hands reached out and latched onto my ankle, I could feel her whole body shaking. I froze at the contact. Her body was wrapped in a cloak, I couldn't see her face, but her long slender hands were milky white, and she was digging long fingernails into my flesh as she spoke.  
  
My voice came out shaky, like hers, "What is it...?"  
  
"The Trilogy!!" She shouted and everyone froze.  
  
The market was silent. These people didn't know of the Trilogy... I was on the spot. I had to do something...  
  
I knelt down next to her and whispered into her ear, "You shouldn't speak of something like that in such a place. Come with me..."  
  
I pulled her up and she latched onto my chest, I could feel her wet tears dripping onto my shirt. I wrapped my arms around her and began to walk away from the market. Half the area's gazes had dropped from us, but the other half were still watching intently. As we disappeared, I could hear the hustle and bustle of the market return, even if more than half of them were gossiping under their breath about what they had just witnessed. Oh well. Still waters run deep.  
  
My step was severely affected as I led her into an alleyway. She clung to me, silently sobbing onto my chest. Finally, we were alone with no one around and I could talk to her.  
  
Why had she come to me of all people...?  
  
I reached for her cloak, the one that was hiding her face. "May I?" I asked quietly and she nodded, sniffling a little bit more.  
  
Slowly, I pulled the hood away, and let it hang loose as I looked at her.  
  
Her lips were painted a pale, blushing pink and her deep blue eyes were outlined with blue eyeliner. Her black hair leaked down her shoulders to around her waist. She looked up at me through heavy lashes, and then smiled.   
  
But it wasn't a smile to which you would give your knight on a white horse. It was a cruel, twisted smile on a beautiful, pure face.  
  
I stepped back as she swiped a long, graceful finger across her pale cheek to get rid of the false tear. "You're Sanosuke Sagara, right?"  
  
"Who the hell are you; that was all just an act!?" I demanded, she took a step closer to me, resting a hand on my chest.  
  
"I am Kaoru Kamiya. It was an act, but I came to warn you of something." Her hand moved down my body, dangerously low.  
  
I gulped.  
  
"Warn me? Of what!?"  
  
"Of your impending death," she said calmly and I snatched her wandering hand up with a glare.  
  
"Listen, 'jou-chan, I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, or what the fuck you want, but I'm not planning on dying any time soon."  
  
She grinned and tilted her head while looking up at me slightly through heavy lashes. "Oh, but Sanosuke...? Weren't you walking through that desert, looking for death to come and claim your life? If Saitou hadn't come and generously picked you up, you would have wandered your way into the desert, never to come out again... you know that you should be dead. Just as the rest of your family is. I was ordered to make sure that you die, just as your family did."  
  
"You... followed me...?"  
  
"Of course. But I didn't know that I would find an underground city!" She announced with a smile.  
  
I shook my head and tightened my grip on her hand. "You're not going to report this to the Trilogy," my voice was low as I growled. She answered me with a sweet giggle.  
  
"I think you're forgetting that I'm an assassin, Sanosuke. I'll kill you, and then silently leave to tell the Trilogy of this place. You know, in order to capture this little city while the people are going about their daily lives; in order to crush them like bugs; in order to ruin their everything and devote them completely and utterly to the Trilogy and bring them above ground?"  
  
"You little bitch! How can you even think of doing that to these people!?"  
  
"Shh, you wouldn't want the city to hear you, would you? You shouldn't ruin the last few days they have left," she cooed in a sweet voice. Her other hand dipped into her cloak and I shook my head quickly.  
  
She was going to kill me, huh?  
  
It wasn't as if I had that much to live for...  
  
But I couldn't let her ruin these people's happiness...!  
  
She had a dagger in her hand, and I quickly grabbed her wrist as soon as I saw the glint of the cold metal. Her eyes widened as I caught her hand. I pulled the dagger away from her.  
  
She glared and jumped back a step, hurrying to grab another weapon. I tossed the dagger away and fell into a defensive position. She pulled out a few more daggers and threw them at me with a deadly accuracy. I dodged three, but the last one that she threw scratched my side and hung onto my shirt limply. She lunged at me, fists flying. I blocked three punches, but one tore into that wound in my side.  
  
In blocking one of the hits, I threw her back to the loose, alleyway dirt. She sprung up immediately and lashed out in a front kicked, getting my side again. The pain burned through my flesh in that strike, and my side was slowly going numb... she was better than I thought...  
  
I looked down at my side for no more than a second to see the blood. She grinned as she snatched up one of her daggers, throwing herself at me.  
  
My stomach arched as she rammed the dagger there.  
  
Direct hit.  
  
My knees almost gave way, and I grabbed her, pressing her up to my body. I didn't want to hurt a girl, even if I was really, really hating her now...  
  
I groaned as the pain swept over my body and my vision began to go from color to black and white...my stomach was churning and I did the first thing that came to mind. I slapped my hand across her nose and her mouth. If she was unconscious, I wouldn't have to deal with her... The robot and Aoshi would know what to do with her...  
  
I wasn't in any condition to... I looked down at her. She couldn't move her hands, they were still holding the dagger that was piercing my stomach. Even so, her body was squirming and her eyes were saucers. She was screaming too, but my hand muffled that pretty damned well. I waited a little longer and her body fell limp.  
  
Well... I needed to get back to the office before this little girl's prophecy came true...  
  
... and I died...  
  
---------  
  
End of part five 


	6. Chapter Six

Notes: Still no Jime yet... but he's going to be back soon, I promise... sniff sniff   
  
Warning: AU, violence, future Sano/Saitou, Kenshin/Aoshi  
  
**Hell of a Long Way Home**  
  
By: Emmy  
  
**Part Six**  
  
-----------  
  
"...nosuke?"  
  
"Sanosuke, are you awake yet?"  
  
I opened my eyes to see the robot leaning over me. I blinked; my body was numb. My stomach didn't hurt at all... I guess that was a plus. "Di-did you find her?" was my first question to them. I wasn't sure what that girl was capable of... well, besides stabbing me in the stomach with a dagger...  
  
"Yes, she's right over there," Aoshi stated, standing right next to the robot, pointing his thumb at the bound girl propped up against a wall to my left.   
  
Good. She hadn't gotten away. She hadn't gone back to the Trilogy and told them where we were. That scared me to death, the crumbled happiness of all these people... being my fault. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened.  
  
"When we found you, she was trying to escape. You had fallen on her, and you were badly bleeding," Kenshin explained, "It's a good thing too. If you hadn't, she would have made a run for it, that she would have."  
  
Ha, Sanosuke Sagara's title as heavy-weight champion strikes again.   
  
"What happened, exactly?" Kenshin asked, pulling my blankets off. I swatted him away, blushing slightly as I realized just how naked I was under those sheets...  
  
He groaned as me, and stated brashly, "It's not as if I haven't seen it before."  
  
"Damnit, since I've met you people I get violated on a frequent basis!" I spat back.  
  
Kenshin rolled his eyes, growling back sarcastically, "Fine. If it's your modesty over your health, I hope the infection that's already started there deteriorates your system slowly, leading you to a very painful death, that I do."  
  
I glared for a moment as he stared at me blankly.   
  
I groaned and ripped the sheet off, muttering under my breath, "Fine, take care of the goddamned wound!"  
  
The robot exchanged glances with Aoshi and shook his head, a bit annoying if you ask me. Well I didn't give a flying fuck about it...  
  
The cool cloth pressed against the gaping flesh of my stomach wound and stung a bit, but from all the pain I had been faced with lately, it wasn't too bad. Hell, it seemed like I was like a fucking human target, and everyone seemed to know about it...  
  
"Now tell me what happened," Kenshin ordered again and I paused.  
  
"I went out; she came crying to me in the market place. I walked with her into an alley to talk with her alone and she told me that she worked for the Trilogy and that she was going to kill me. She tried; I got stabbed a few times, suffocated her and then fell on her. That's about it," I finished with a cocky grin.  
  
I had no fucking idea why I was grinning, but I was.   
  
There was a bit of a struggle from the girl in the corner, as if she was desperately trying to say something, but due to her bound and gagged status, she couldn't get it out.  
  
I raised an eyebrow at her, "What? Do you want to contradict my story somehow? I would like to see just what you have to say, because everything I said was right on the mark."  
  
She shook her head viciously, and I glanced over at Kenshin, "Could you take that gag off for a sec? I really wanna hear what she has to say."  
  
Kenshin looked over to Aoshi, who was already making his way over there.  
  
Aoshi gently untied her gag, while she glared at him the whole time. He backed away as soon as the gag was removed and she shook her head violently.  
  
"You led me into that alleyway and took off my hood; the next thing that you did was try to rape me!!" she cried out, starting with the crocodile tears again.  
  
I blinked and nearly fell over, "What the fuck is wrong with you!? Why the hell would I try to --!?"  
  
"Because you saw just how attractive I was and couldn't help your animalistic urges!" She spat back, tears running down her face.  
  
Kenshin looked at me, raising an eyebrow. Wait-- is he actually questioning which of us is telling the truth!?  
  
"Put that gag back on her!" I growled.  
  
"You're just afraid of them knowing the truth!"  
  
I glared at her, "I would never try to do that!!"  
  
"Then why did you do it to me!?"  
  
"Shut up!!"  
  
Aoshi blinked, looking at Kenshin, unsure about what to do. I glared, and looked to Kenshin as well. He looked at the crying girl nervously, and gave the go-ahead to gag her once more. How the hell could they even second-guess me on something like that...!?  
  
"How the hell could you even think I would try something like that?!" I demanded of the two, and Kenshin sheepishly looked to the ground.  
  
"We haven't known you for that long, Sanosuke. We don't know what kind of a person you are, that we do not..."  
  
"You're a fucking robot! Don't you have a lie detector built into that little mechanical body of yours somewhere?!"  
  
"I'm not a robot, Sano," he tried again.  
  
Whatever.  
  
"What are we going to do with her?" I asked, gesturing over to the girl who was now glaring at us mercilessly.  
  
"Battousai's going to run a few checks on her, and we're going to question her about a number of things concerning the Trilogy," Aoshi supplied, walking away from 'jou-chan and back over to us.  
  
"Question? About what?" I asked quickly, trying to divert my attention on something other than the stinging wound Kenshin was currently tending to. Fuck, that hurt!  
  
"About the water problem, about their knowledge of this place, of any other plans that we're unaware of," Aoshi said again.  
  
Wow. I've never heard this guy speak so much. It was fucking scary, really.  
  
"Wait, water problem? Isn't 'Jime the one focusing on that?" I asked suddenly.   
  
The room fell into an awkward silence.  
  
"Wait... what are you telling me? He's never been gone this long, has he?!" I suddenly demanded, trying to sit up, only to fall back down as my stomach muscles contracted into a burning sensation from the stab wound.  
  
"No, that's not what we're telling you at all," Kenshin stated, dabbing away the newly forming blood around my wound. "We're just stating that Saitou may not be back quickly enough for us to solve the problem, and we need to start looking at the problem now before both the crops, and our little city dies."   
  
I narrowed my eyes into a glare. Was this really how long it took Hajime to come back from a mission? This was long... how long could it take to check out what was going on with a stupid little river?!  
  
"Aoshi, come with me," Kenshin ordered, standing up and walking in the other direction quickly. The other man followed quickly behind him and I groaned as I watched them leave. Where were they going off to?  
  
"Where are you going, robot?" I asked gruffly, and the redhead turned around, braid swinging with his every step.  
  
"I need to check how our water supply is now, that I do."  
  
I remained silent as I watched them walk into one of the stat rooms, just a few rooms away from this room. I groaned and watched the ceiling. Great, I was stuck with psycho girl now. I looked over to see just what she was doing. She glared, watching my every move with a shifty expression on her face.  
  
I shook my head and focused my attention back on the ceiling. I took a deep breath, noting that my throat was healing slightly.  
  
That turned my mind back on that Key... where had they put it? I brace myself for a little bit of pain as I sat up quickly, and grimaced as I pulled myself up to stand. I looked around the room. This was the only room in this building besides Hajime's that I had even been in. This was a huge building; just what was in the other rooms?  
  
Yeah, I was becoming curious, bad thing for me, but I had to see just what was going on in this building. I wrapped the blanket around my waist and began to wander around. I remember coming in from the front, but what was to the back? There was a door...  
  
Where did that door lead?  
  
I walked over to that door and turned the handle. I frowned as it led to a corridor: shit... there were a lot of doors...  
  
I looked down the hall, briefly wondering where each one of the led...  
  
But the weird part was that the water sound...  
  
It kept getting louder and louder...  
  
I stopped as I stood in the middle of the corridor. I looked to my left; the first door, and peered inside after pulling the handle open. In that room was nothing but artillery. And by artillery, I meant a lot of artillery...  
  
I stopped as I heard a faint dripped from over head. I looked up to see a little trickle of water flowing down into the hall, the drops splashing to the wood floor.   
  
The -creaking- wood floor. I turned hesitantly to the next door and frowned. There was a slight glow coming from the inside.  
  
I turned the knob and peered in; the room was bathed in a pale red glow. I froze as I looked in a glass case. Behind the glass, a small metal animal clanked around, walking on all eight of its legs, slowly clinking along the glass walls of the case confining it. I frowned again; it was the Key.  
  
The Key was giving off the red glow. I paused as it turned around to me, clicking along the glass. Three eyes blinked and before I could see anything else, a burst of energy exploded from the small creature, nearly shattering the glass.   
  
I thought that it should have shattered the glass... but it didn't...  
  
Why didn't it...?  
  
The glass flashed blue for a moment, and the small creature inside fell to the ground, twitching uncontrollably. The glass must have been containing it well, that's why it didn't break...  
  
I shook my head and backed out of the room quickly, slamming the door before anything else could happen. I turned swiftly into another room, and froze.  
  
The river...  
  
The river was flowing through this room. The light flashed along the cave's edges, the rocks frozen in mid-drip, falling down into the river. The bay before it was sand... sand that damped the area where the wood floor finally stopped. I was still standing on the wood when I realized that I wasn't alone in the room. There were five or more dead bodies lined up against the sandy shore.   
  
I froze, looking at the pale, flesh, and the sunken in eyes. Half where half-in, half-out of the river, and the others were decaying on land with river creatures I had never seen feasting on their flesh. I choked down a scream, shaking my head; this is what I had smelled when I had smelled when I had gone down that man-hole the first time... this was the smell that the river gave me...  
  
I looked at one more thing before I turned and ran.  
  
They were wearing Trilogy uniforms...  
  
These people were Trilogy guards...  
  
I turned out of the room even faster than I had before. I ran down the corridor, but froze as I heard a voice.  
  
"Aoshi... I'm worried about what's happening. Saitou isn't back yet, it's never taken him this long and the river is drying up..."  
  
I crouched down outside the door where I heard the voices coming from.  
  
"He will be back soon. And you know that when he comes back, he'll be ready to fix exactly what's wrong with the river, there is no doubt in my mind that all we need is to give him is a little more time."  
  
"I guess you're right."  
  
There was a moment of silence, and then I frowned.   
  
A moan.  
  
A moan? A moan that distinctly had come from Kenshin.   
  
"Mmm, Aoshi... not here, not now, we should be... ahhh... getting back to...mmm, Sano..."  
  
Wait a minute... those noises...  
  
A blush colored my cheeks as it hit me...  
  
"Mmm, yes... Aoshi... more... Aoshi!"  
  
Aoshi and the robot were like -that-!?  
  
I stood up abruptly and silently got out of there as quickly as I could, I didn't want to hear what they were doing in there... I may be nosey, but I'm not a voyeur... shit...  
  
And then I thought of one thing that I probably really, really shouldn't have at a time like that...  
  
What would it have been like to do it with a robot...?  
  
-----------------------  
  
End of part six 


	7. Chapter Seven

Notes: giggles Jime's back!! Jime's back!! happy dance around the room Yahoo!!  
  
Warnings: AU, Sano/Saitou (finally) violence (not much, just a little talking about death and stuff)  
  
**Hell of a Long Way Home**  
  
By: Emmy  
  
**Part Seven**  
  
---------------  
  
I staggered back to the main room, took one look at Kaoru and trudged back to Hajime's room. I didn't want to be out in the open with Kaoru... she would be giving me too many stares, and they were not what I wanted to deal with. At least in Hajime's room I would feel comfortable. I was still blushing furiously as I sat down on his bed, I wrapped the blanket around me tightly. I fell back down onto his bed with a groan.  
  
"I did not have to hear that... I really did not have to hear that..." I repeated to myself as I closed my eyes, trying very hard to rid myself of the images that were popping up in my head.  
  
"What did you hear?"  
  
"Aoshi and Kenshin going at it -- hey!!" I suddenly sat up as I heard the voice, but quickly fell back down to the bed as my stomach ached. I wasn't ready for that.  
  
"Ow..." I muttered helplessly.  
  
"What happened this time?"  
  
Yup, that was definitely Hajime!  
  
I sat up, this time ready for it and smiled as I saw him in the room, pulling his cloak off.  
  
"Oh, some bitch of the Trilogy stabbed me in the stomach with a dagger." I replied flippantly.  
  
His eyes widened as he got his cloak off and demanded, "Someone of the Trilogy was here?!"  
  
"Yeah, but we have them gagged and bound in the commons room." I stated. "She came to assassinate me, but failed, so that's the end of that."  
  
I frowned for a moment, "Wait... you knew about Aoshi and Kenshin?"  
  
"Who doesn't know? It's not as if they say much about it, and I doubt they know that I know. It's not that big of a deal." Hajime said carefully, now that he had calmed down a little bit.  
  
"But how would a robot... do... that?" I asked, my face in a perplexed expression.  
  
Hajime chuckled, something that I had never heard from him. Hm, well I'm glad that -someone- found my confusion amusing. "Battousai's a -cyborg-, not a robot. And luckily for Shinomori, -that- particular part wasn't something that he lost."  
  
"He's a fucking robot!" I stated loudly, and then groaned inwardly at my choice of words.  
  
"And I didn't know that they were like -that-! It scared the shit out of me!" I said, exasperated.  
  
"Why did it scare you?" He asked, with a smirk on his face, unloading three bags he was carrying as well.  
  
I shook my head, I didn't know... I just didn't want to hear something like that... I paused instead.  
  
"Hajime... I found the door in the corridor to the river... why were there dead bodies there?" I asked suddenly. He may have been mad at me for exploring on my own accord, but I could care less. I could always trust him to tell me the truth. That's all that he has been doing anyway.  
  
I looked over and met his gaze. He was just looking at me. "You shouldn't have gone off exploring, Sanosuke." His voice was stiff, but he continued. "Those were guards were working for the Trilogy and just happened to come down on The Underground. We had to kill them."  
  
"And that's where you put them, huh?" I asked, running a hand through my hair while I watched him.  
  
He nodded. "Yes, until we get permission to throw them into the river."  
  
"Who gives the permission?"  
  
"The people that get the water from the river. They draw it a little down stream and we must know when they're irrigating the water. We don't want to thrown the corpse into the water when the city may be using it." He said simply and I felt sick.  
  
"So those are only recent bodies? How many do you usually get?" I asked without another thought.  
  
"A lot of the bodies that wash up aren't Trilogy bodies. A lot are civilians that they get rid of by sending down river when no family is alive to take the corpses." Saitou said carefully and I lowered my head to the ground. That's what they would have done with my family.  
  
"No wondering the river smells like death..." I said shallowly. I shook my head and looked up. "So what did you find out about the river?" I asked after a moment's hesitation.  
  
"You can listen when I report it to Aoshi and Kenshin."  
  
I chuckled, "When they're done fucking."  
  
"You're being rather blunt today."  
  
"Hey! I was just traumatized!" I exclaimed, placing a hand on my chest, sticking my tongue out and winking at the same time.  
  
"I hardly think that it affected you that much, just as that dagger to your stomach didn't affect you." He stated and I yawned.  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Oh well, I need to be desensitized when I end up finding dead bodies every time I open a door." I said and then thought for a moment after Hajime changed. I guess he -had- come from the river, and he was soaking wet. He pulled on the first thing that was in his drawer after he had stripped down. For some reason I had a hard time keeping my eyes off of him. I cursed myself, I shouldn't have.  
  
I wasn't like Aoshi and Kenshin...  
  
At least I didn't think I was...  
  
I looked up to him as he was pulling on his shirt, the last article of clothing he needed to get on, and looked at me. "You should at least get a pair of pants on." He stated flippantly.  
  
I pouted. "The robot took my pants."  
  
"Here." He said, and pulled a pair of lounge pants of his out for me.  
  
I smiled and accepted them, pulling them on quickly. I rode them low on my hips to make sure they didn't interfere with my stomach wound. I looked around the room for a moment and then asked hesitantly, "How long does it usually take them...?"  
  
"Not much longer, but we should occupy ourselves with something else for a little while." Hajime replied smoothly, sitting down in a chair while pulling something up to read and I nodded.  
  
I hesitated, I didn't really want to say it... but I had to have an answer.  
  
"'Jime?"  
  
"Hm?" He asked, shifting his gaze to him.  
  
"Why did you... kiss me?"  
  
He looked at me for a moment. "To startle you so you wouldn't follow me."  
  
His answer was so assuring, so smooth, so planned.  
  
"What if that hadn't worked?"  
  
"It did, didn't it? That's all that matters." He replied, and I frowned.  
  
"What if I thought it had meant something more?" I continued, not worrying about digging my own grave, I was already doing that quite nicely.  
  
"Meant something more?" He echoed, and that's what I was afraid of.  
  
"Yeah, like how Aoshi and Kenshin mean it, maybe not -that- much of a something more, but something more in that... general direction..." I trailed off, looking up at him, unsure.  
  
He shifted in the chair he had taken, but it wasn't an uncomfortable shifting. It was a shifting to see me better. "I don't think I see what you mean."  
  
I raised an eyebrow. He needed a demonstration, I could see. I stood up and walked over to him, placing a finger on my chin. "Well, something like this, I guess." I stated and sat down on his lap, placing my hands on his arms, and then, leaning in I kissed him.  
  
I pulled away and watched for a reaction.  
  
"Like that?" He asked, arching an eyebrow, "Are you sure it wasn't something like this?"  
  
I froze as he leaned in, closing the distance between us and kissed me. But it wasn't even in the same category as the previous two kisses. He kissed me deeply, sliding his tongue inside my mouth, playfully battling with mine. I closed my eyes and moved my arms from where they were pinning his, to around his neck as the kiss become more needing.  
  
I moaned against his touch, and then slowly pulled away as he lightened up. I blinked, our faces a few inches away.  
  
My breath was heavy as I watched him. "I guess that was what I meant..." I stated breathlessly.  
  
"Then I guess my answer would have to be yes." He stated and I grinned, leaning in for another kiss as his arms wrapped around my back and I twisted my fingers into his hair.  
  
Ya know what the funny part is....  
  
About two minutes ago, I thought that I was straight...  
  
--------  
  
End of part seven 


	8. Chapter Eight

Notes: Jime came back... MUAHAHA!! And onto the sexiness!!  
  
Warnings: AU, Sano/Saitou, light lemon, angst, Kenshin/Aoshi  
  
**Hell of a Long Way Home**  
  
By: Emmy  
  
Part Eight  
  
-------------------  
  
I was still straddling his lap and kissing him deeply as he reached for my shirt. What was he planning on doing...? I was injured... he knew that and I knew that...  
  
Oh well. He probably knew what he was doing so it wasn't in my place to say anything about it.  
  
I moan loudly as his hands fell lower down my back and dropped into my pants. "I missed you, 'Jime..." I said suddenly and trailed off.  
  
Why was he doing this...? I was in no position to say anything in protest, I wanted him to do this... I needed him to do this... I think that I am in love with this man, and everything we're doing seems so right... I mean, if Aoshi and the robot are over there in the other room fucking, why can't we be? It doesn't matter that he just got back home or anything but--  
  
... why did I just think of this place as home...?  
  
Home was where your loved ones are, a place that you belong.  
  
I guess this was as close to a home as I was going to get right now...  
  
I yelped suddenly as I felt his teeth sunk into my shoulder. I guess I really should have been paying more attention to the situation at hand...  
  
His tongue soothed out the stinging and then moved to suck along my neck as I continued to moan.  
  
"Mmm, 'Jime...? Are you sure that... ahhh... we should be doing this on your.... ahhhh chair...? I mean... ohhhh, there's a-a.... b-bed right over... mmm... there...!" I managed to get out as Hajime's hand had managed to miraculously work its way around in my pants.  
  
Before I could say anything else, he had lifted me up and pinned me roughly down to his bed, where I had been before. Pleasure racked over my body and my vision began to blur as he began to stroke me within the confidement of the pants. Damn, he just gave them to me... work works fast, doesn't he?...  
  
I leaned up and captured his mouth with mine, turning it into an all-out tongue war as he slipped my pants off. Some of his skin was still chilly from the recent dip in the death-river, but it wouldn't be for long, I was going to warm him right up...  
  
As I ran my hands along his back and his chest I couldn't help but notice just how built and strong he was... there was definitely something that he had yet to tell me about himself, Aoshi and Kenshin... No mere guards were this strong and built!  
  
I groaned louder as he rubbed his hardness up against my own erection, at the same time he silenced me with a kiss. His mouth dipped down, cleaning the wound on my stomach that just recently began to bleed again. I squirmed under his talented tongue, feeling strangely turned on (as if I could be more turned on than I already was...) by his ministrations. I loved the way he felt... I loved his slick flesh against mine... I wanted more of it.  
  
"Hey... 'Jime... ahh, why... a-aren't -you- taking... mmm... -your- p-pants off?" I got out as his mouth moved down to my length.  
  
"Because we're not going to do anything that would involve a need for me to take my pants off." He expelled smoothly and took me into his mouth.  
  
I would have protested loudly, but the feeling of his mouth around my cock shut me up immediately, reducing me to erotic moans. His tongue lapped around my length as he began to suck on me... it was almost too much to bear...  
  
It felt... oh god, it felt so good...!  
  
The only things that I could get out was, "More... god, 'Jime, more!" or "Faster!" in my almost delirious, pleasure-strickened state.  
  
I continued to groan as I twisted in the cool sheets, wanting to come at any moment, but 'Jime kept me on the brink, only to pull me back one second, and send me there again.  
  
Once more, I was reduced to, "Please... 'Jime! Please!"  
  
I could feel my climax coming... waves of pleasure racking my brain, and my body as 'Jime rocked over me, continuing to suck me into coming.  
  
I threw my head back and closed my eyes as I road out those final waved of pleasure and emptied myself into 'Jime's mouth.  
  
-------------------  
  
My vision blurred and when I came to I was in Hajime's arms, breathing heavily. I smiled and snuggled up to him.  
  
"'Jime?" I started, still breathless as I snuggled into that muscled chest, "What if I told ya that I might be in love with ya?"  
  
I felt his muscles tense up. Not good...  
  
"Then I would tell you that it was just a figment of your imagination."  
  
I groaned and looked up to him, "Nuh-uh! I know what I feel and there is--"  
  
Two of his fingers landed on my lips, "Shh. Don't say it. Keep it to yourself."  
  
It was more of an order than anything, and I frowned at that. What did that mean?  
  
"Just never say it, all right?" He asked, and I nodded.  
  
"I'll never say it."  
  
"Good, now we should get ready so we can do talk to Battousai and Shinomori."  
  
I paused, "Why do you call Kenshin Battousai?"  
  
He paused, "Just out of habit."  
  
"Habit?" I echoed. "How so?"  
  
"That's what I called him when we were Ohkubou's guards."  
  
"Oh, I see. And here I thought those nicknames were just little play names for when ya got bored." I said with a laugh.  
  
He chuckled, "Anyway, we should get going." He finished, and I nodded.  
  
-------------------  
  
Aoshi and Kenshin were already in the room, probably looking for me. Kenshin blinked, "Sano, Saitou! Where were you, I was looking for you!"  
  
"I was looking--"  
  
"We were getting him some pants." Hajime quickly cut in and told them. Yeah, I guess that worked. I paused and looked over at him for a moment.  
  
"When did you get back, Saitou?" Aoshi asked, sitting down at one of the desks.  
  
Shit, when I was looking at Aoshi and Kenshin... I couldn't look at them the same anymore. The only images that came when I looked at them was the two all over each other in less than platonic positions... and that wasn't a healthy thing to see whenever I looked at them...  
  
Not healthy indeed.  
  
I shook my head and looked at the ground.  
  
"I just got back. As soon as I gave Sanosuke those pants we headed over here." His comment was so nonchalant. I'm sure that he's dealt with the two many times. But all that easiness when it came to lying denoted experience. That made me wonder about just how many times Hajime has done that. I frowned once more.  
  
Damnit, maybe I should just stop thinking all together... that may be the only healthy thing to do...  
  
"So what did you find out about the river? What took you so long?"  
  
"The Trilogy was doing some routine checks that I just happened to be in the middle of. I had to do hiding most of the time I was there, and then the entrances to the river was heavily guarded. I asked around town, and the rumors say that the lack of rain fall has started the effect it." Saitou explained.  
  
Kenshin shook his head, "That can't be it. It just started to happen, if that were true then over time--"  
  
"I know, Battousai, you didn't let me finish." Hajime admonished.  
  
The robot shut his mouth immediately.  
  
"What is really happening?" Aoshi asked quickly, urging Hajime's story on.  
  
"That was what the rumors suggested, but as I found out the Trilogy lost one of their main power sources to the desert. They need something to power the city and their fortress. They're using a new form of hydraulic power... the only one that they have left. And that's what's using the water up." Hajime finished.  
  
I blinked.  
  
"Uhh, 'Jime? If they're so all-powerful, why can't -they- just use -their- power to power the city and stuff...?" I asked, looking at the room.  
  
He smiled.  
  
"Precisely. That was something that bothered me, and it was later that day, on my way back here, actually, that I over heard some guards gossiping. You see, the Trilogy are saving their power because Prophet told them something." Hajime looked around the room, seeing if anyone had a guess.  
  
"What did the Prophet predict, Saitou?" Kenshin urged on.  
  
"The Prophet told them that the One had been born. The One that's going to save this city."  
  
My breath caught in my throat.  
  
"So they know of Sanosuke's presence..." Kenshin said, and then smiled. "Good."  
  
----------------------  
  
End of part eight 


	9. Chapter Nine

Notes: Well, we have a little more background info, and a little more Sano/Saitou stuff. Pretty standard chapter, minus my evil ick-factors ;;

Warnings: Sano/Saitou, citrus

**Hell Of a Long Way Home**

By: Emmy

**Part Nine**

------------

After a little more discussion, I was promptly ordered to leave. I decided that I wanted to take a bath. There was a tub in the house, a tub that was virtually a swimming pool of -heated- water, that I had been wanting to try out for a while. I had only known that it was here last night, or I would have bathed here to begin with... The robot really was a spoiled sport. He probably had wanted this bath all to himself...

I quickly undressed right outside the small bath and then began to slowly wade my way in. The first thing that I had noticed when I came in here was the fact that the room was scented in vanilla... all around me, I could smell vanilla. I wasn't even going to ask where they had gotten that... something are better to remain secrets... The warm water encircling my feet as I slowly stepped in felt so damned good... I smiled and closed my eyes as I dived under the water.

The heat around me felt out of this world... a lot like Jime's embrace, actually...

Under water I felt the heat of a blush coming to my cheeks through the heat of the water.

What had happened between Jime and I...? It had been so sudden, but then again I wouldn't have had it any other way. I smiled to myself as I reached the surface. I was about to take a deep breath and head back under, but a voice stopped me.

"Sano."

I paused and opened my eyes abruptly, looking to the edge of the pool.

Kenshin was there, kneeling, looking over me. 

I blinked.

"What is it?"

"I just foolishly remember that when Saitou was gone, I was supposed to be training you a little more than what I had... I would like to start that training as soon as you get out. So if you could meet me in the areana after you finish, it would be ideal, that it would."

I paused for a moment, "You mean the areana all the way on the other side of the Underground?" I asked for clarity.

"One in the same."

"Is there anything that I should bring, or what?" 

"Make sure to dress comfortably, we are going to be doing a lot of things. All you need to do is bring yourself, I'll supply all that we will need. But be ready for a challenge, Sanosuke." He advised, and I nodded.

"Yeah, sure, can you get Hajime for me?" I asked suddenly.

He nodded, "I will." And then turned his back to me, moving out.

Can you get Hajime for me?

What the hell had that been about?

I didn't know why I had asked that... what an idiot I am! He's going to think that I'm a moron when he comes in... I shook my head. I would just let thing happen, and see how everything turns out... I'm sure that deep down, I knew what I was doing... even if I didn't have the faintest idea on the outside. I was just going to plan it by year... or something like that...

I took in a deep breath and dove under the water, swimming around a little bit, just letting my mind wander. I felt like I didn't have a care in the world, and the warmth around me confirmed that I didn't... what a great attention-diverter. It was as if the water was whispering little lies of an outside world that wasn't supposed to exist. I almost forgot everything. This was my new, official vacation place... the little spa on the inside of the Underground... but for how long was I going to be able to treat it like I was now? Things had a tendency to come crashing down with me... and I had a bad feeling that this was going to be yet another one of these events...

I surfaced and took a deep breath in... shit, I hadn't realized that I had been under that long! I continued to take in deep breaths, a little winded and naive to the fact that I did need to breath, contrary to popular belief...

"You needed to speak with me?" A new voice sounded, and my eyes darted up to the side of the little pool.

"Yeah, Jime. How are ya doing?" I said, trying to start a conversation vainly.

He raised an eyebrow.

Obviously it wasn't working that well...

"I'm fine." He stated simply and I strained my brain for something to say.

"You look tired from that trip, join me?" My voice probably sounded a bit too seductive, as that was not my current intent... he probably thought I was some kind of a horny teenager now... Brilliant, Sanosuke, really brilliant.

But in spite of what he or I thought, he took up my invitation, and pulled his clothes off to join me.

"What kinda training shit is the robot gonna do with me?" I asked suddenly, an actual question popping into my mind, and then out my mouth.

"I'm afraid that you're going to have to find that out for yourself when you get there." He admitted, and I found myself frowning at that.

"Don't you know, Jime?"

"I know the basis of what he's going to teach you, but I've never truly been aware of the actual training." He stated.

"Oh. I see." I lulled my head back into the water, floating on my back, looking at the ceiling. I yawned, and then sunk back into the bath, holding my place under the clear water.

As I surfaced, I looked around, and then swam over to where Hajime was treading. "Hey, Jime? What does it smell like vanilla in here?" I asked, casually latching onto his side. He looked around and then smiled.

"When the Underground was first established, the Battousai was looking around the area we had claimed as our base. He found this hot spring here, accidentally. Unfortunately, when he was bringing some of the plants here to be introduced to the Underground soil, he had the vanilla plant in hand, and had tripped into the hot spring... the vanilla now only grows in this area, since he lost it. We can smell it, but we have no idea where it is."

"Heh, I could see that." I said with a laugh, giving Hajime a quick squeeze.

"I've told you the history of the Underground, so you tell me what your life was like. Tell me of your family." Hajime suggested and my smile fell into a frown.

"Well... there isn't that much to tell, really. My life up there was as how everyone's life is up there. Nothing short of hell... but my parents really tried to keep me, my sister and brother sheltered from the way the Trilogy had been ruling everything. They tried to keep us away, and not know of what was going on out there. People were slaughtered in the streets, and in public places, so we all stayed at home. Dad was gone a lot, but that was to do the physical labor that the Trilogy forced people to do... it was hard not seeing him a lot... but dad and I really didn't get along that well." I explained, laying my head on his shoulder as I spoke.

"I went out a lot. I shouldn't have, and my parents downright forbid it, but I never listened. There were some clubs that I went to, got drunk and shit, and when I came home, I got more than an earful from dad. But the one time that made him the most furious was when he caught me making out with with this guy that I had met at the club, and decided to follow me home... I coulda sworn that he was going to kill me then." I chuckled at the memory. "I always had a lot of... as my mom called them... homosexual tendencies... I had a girlfriend, once, but we argued more than we did anything else. And I felt like I had to protect her more than love her. I never wanted to do anything with her... even if she was drop-dead gorgeous. It just didn't float my boat."

I looked around at Hajime.

"What about you?"

"There's nothing to tell about me." He stated, and I chuckled.

"Aww, come on! I told you about my life, you tell me about yours!"

He shook his head.

"Come on!!" I protested, rocking back and forth as I held him. "You have to tell me sometime!!"

"So later, as opposed to now." He retorted calmly.

I groaned.

"Fine, if you're going to be that way, I'll just let you!" I said, a little annoyed, but I shrugged it off.

I caught him looking at me, and I flashed a smile, before going under again.

I came up quickly, and froze as a pair of lips claimed mine. I moaned softly against Hajime's familiar touch, and wrapped my arms around his neck, massaging my fingers along his moisten back. I nibbled on his bottom lip, feeling his arms wrap around my waist.

His tongue slipped into my mouth, and stroked the inside, slick against my own tongue. I began to rub my leg against Saitou's thigh under the water, the heat rising off the surface of the hot spring turning me on even more. I grinned against his mouth and pulled away as I began to kiss against his slippery skin.

"You'll be joining me the commons room when Battousai takes Sagara to the arena, correct?" A new voice asked, and I froze.

Hajime nodded, "Yes, and tell the old man, head of irrigation that I found the source of the water problem, and I'm fixing it."

"Of course." Aoshi said, and left.

I pulled away from Hajime and looked him in the eyes. "What just happened?! He just walked in on us and you treated it like it was an everyday occasion!" I blurted.

He granted me a cocky smile, "That's because it is."

------------------------

End of part nine 


	10. Chapter Ten

Notes: I'm a little stumped on this chapter, but I have to work on it... I know that much Um... here I go...?

Warnings: The natural: Sano/Saitou. Light Sano/Kenshin in this chapter... lucky rooster... ;;

**Hell Of a Long Way Home**

By: Emmy

Part ten

---------------------------

I had gotten out of the water pretty damned soon after Aoshi left. That had shaken me up a little bit... that voyeur! Well -- he technically wasn't because he didn't sit and watch. He went through the room at a pretty good pace... but why does that matter!? The fact was, I was peeped at! And **that's **all the mattered! I frowned as I pulled my clothes on. I was going to have to train with Kenshin now...

The robot.

The way he had looked at Kaoru and said, "So they know of Sanosuke's presence, good." Had scared the shit out of me...

He looked... malice. And his eyes looked cruel.

I hadn't gotten that impression from him at all yet. That was a first, and it had worried me about the training, to tell you the truth. I mean -- how fucking rigorous was it going to be, right? A voice in the back of my head taunted me 'Well, it can be as rigorous as -they- want... all they have to do is keep you alive.'

Yeah. It seemed like I was asking for punishment... and that wasn't good.

I rolled my eyes at my internal dialogue and pulled my shirt over my head. I peered over my shoulder as Hajime just started to stand out of the water.

He wiped his face off with a towel. That towel was the only article on him.

Unlike me, of course. I was fully dressed -- thank you very much.

I leaned forward and kissed him quickly.

"How long do you think I'll be at this training thing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I pulled away from him.

"All night, I have a feeling. Battousai's going to have fun breaking you in."

"What do you mean by that...?" I asked cautiously.

A smirk crept onto his lips. "I mean that he may seem gentle at first, but he's not going to hold back, Sanosuke. Be ready to take a beating."

"Ehh, is he really gonna kick the shit out of me?" I asked, giving him a pretty damned good puppy face, if I do say so myself.

Hajime nodded. That was just great...

"Well... I guess I should be on my way." I commented, and walked out of the room. I pulled my jacket close to me as I walked into the market place.

This was going to be on the other side of town... I needed to be there soon too. I was going to need to make good time if I wanted to get around the 'you're late - I'm going to punish you,' initial beating. I wanted to save myself all the beatings I could... it just sounded more appealing.

I wove through the crowd at the market, and took in a deep breath. I was just waiting for a psycho like that missy to jump out at me. My experience in the market place hadn't been the best. But even so, looking at all their happy faces, it made me feel good to be alive.

Yeah -- happiness existed somewhere.

And the Underground was that place for so many people.

I felt happy for them. That was a great thing to have.

The Underground was a lot larger than I thought. After I got past the ever bustling market place, I reached a few rows of homes. I looked around, wondering just where this arena was going to be. I spun around as I heard something crash behind me.

My eyes landed on an older man kneeling on the ground, picking up some scattered groceries.

I immediately fell to my knees and gathered the fruit and cartons around me. He looked up hesitantly to meet my gaze as I handed him the food. "Here you go, sir."

"T-Thank you, young man." He looked around for a bag to put them in, but his thankful look faded as he noted the tear in his burlap sack. 

"If you want those groceries... you can have them. For your kindness. I'm afraid I have no way of carrying them." He said, slowly standing up to his feet.

I shook my head. "Where do you live? I can just help you carry them!" I announced. These weren't mine -- they were his. I couldn't just take them from him.

"Thank you so much, kind sir." He repeated, a smile on his wrinkled and sagging face. "It's right this way..." He instructed, and began to walk down the rows of houses. 

They were only one-room houses, I noted as he lead me inside. They were really small living quarters... but I suppose it was enough to survive. Yeah, freedom was the important thing...

I set the groceries that I was carrying on his counter. 

"Please, let me do something in exchange for your kindness." He asked, folding his hands in a prayer.

I shook my head. "Naw, don't worry about it. I should be on my way now!" I told him with a large smile, and began to walk away.

I felt a tug on my sweats, and I looked down to my feet to see a small little girl tugging on my pants. I grinned. 

"Hey, what is it?" I asked, kneeling down to her.

She wrapped her arms around my neck in a huge hug, and that's when I felt another pair on me. Heh, there were two little girls. "Thank you, big brother!" She cooed, not seeming to want to let go.

He older man chuckled. "Yes, thank you."

They let me go as I stood up, and I looked to the man. "Are they your granddaughters?"

I didn't think that he was their father, so I was safe on that one...

"Yes, indeed they are."

"They're cute." I commented, ruffling each one of the small brunettes hair. "But, as I said, I have to be on my way. I have a date."

I walked outside the small one-roomed shack and stuck out my tongue in disgust. I have a date? What the fuck was wrong with me?

Especially with that robot -- regardless of the fact he was already tied to the mute guy.

Next time, I'll just have to think of better wording.

I hurried to the arena.

------------------

"You're late." A voice echoed as I walked into the dome. I blinked and looked at Kenshin. He was standing in the middle with his arms crossed. And damn, he looked intimidating... like he -really- could kick the shit out of me... Yeah... just my luck.

"Sorry about that, I got side-tracked."

He nodded, and began to walk toward me, brushing that long braid over his shoulder.

He looked me up and down a few times, and then raised his voice to ask, "When you were Aboveground... What did you do?"

"Excuse me?"

"When it came to physical activity." He clarified, and I groaned.

I thought he was asking for my job or some shit like that. Ha, a job. Something that I didn't, and would never have...

"I worked out pretty regularly."

"How much can you bench?"

"A little more than my weight."

"Which is?"

I gave him a playful look, "Ya shouldn't ask someone that, ya know!"

He rolled his eyes. Guess he didn't find my humor very funny... Oh well. That was his loss, not mine. I watched him for a moment, and then spoke up.

"One sixty."

Kenshin nodded. 

"What about combat?"

"I got into my fair share of fights." I admitted.

"Come it at me."

"What?!"

"Come at me. Attack me."

I looked at him. "I can't just do that... ya know."

He raised an eyebrow. "And why not? Are you afraid of a robot?" His usual honey coated tone was gone now. Now he spoke as if he were a shard of glass. Ready to kill. And that was not good for me...

"No way, man! I just... can't come at someone like that!" I got out, and then gasped as my back hit the cold ground.

The wind had been knocked from my lungs and I was staring up to see Kenshin pinning me down to the ground. His gold eyes bore into mine for a moment before he leaned down. His lips brushed against mine as he kissed me. My eyes were wide with shock.

What was he doing!?

He pulled away, still smirking down at me and stated, "You better start. Now."

--------------------------

End of part ten 


	11. Chapter Eleven

Notes: Hmm... I took another break on this. Well, I'm a little angry right now, so I'm taking it out on this fic and working. :p Be happy. You got a chapter out of it! XD It's a short one... shh!!

Warnings: Angst, slight Sano/Kenshin

Hell Of A Long Way Home

By: Emmy

Part 11

-------------------------------

My eyes watched him as he stood in front of me. What the hell had that been about?! He had kissed me...

He was with Aoshi... wasn't he!?

And I was with Hajime...

None of this made sense...

Was this all about making me mad enough to fight him!?

Well -- that didn't exactly happen. 

I was more flustered about it than anything... and it was odd... the way that he had kissed me was different than any other kiss I've really experienced in my life. I'll be the first one to admit that I haven't been kissed too much... but his kiss was odd. I mean -- really, really odd. There was a tangy taste in his mouth. Like oil...

Yeah... he was a robot, and that made sense...

But the passion was something beyond human and robot...

Something that made his touch seem more like a god.

And no. I was not in love with him or anything. I'm being fucking objective.

Maybe this is what he wanted me to see when he kissed me... that he was something more than a cyborg, or robot or android, or whatever the fuck he was...

He walked back, his eyes watching me in amusement. His steps were light and graceful along the loose dirt, kicking up little storms as he folded his arms in front of him.

"So, Sanosuke. Are you going to make your move?"

I gulped, and clenched my fists.

He just wanted me to hit him, right?

He just watched me. Almost hungrily. Damnit, he was gonna fucking rape me, 'r something!

"Do it." he commanded, and I blinked.

He thought that he could just kiss me and get away with it!? Everything was a mess in my head, and it was time to get back at him. 

I had to make everything make sense!

And if this was the way I was going to have to do it, so be it.

I would beat the answer out of him!

"Fine! You asked for it!" I shouted, and charged, throwing a right hook in his direction.

He didn't even block!

He just side-stepped the fucking thing, grinning at me.

"Asshole!"

I lashed my other fist out. He knocked my blow away with his leg, kicking my arm.

Flesh on flesh.

Heh, he was a well constructed robot, wasn't he?

I cracked my knuckles and fell to my knees, springing up to get the advantage of height in with this kick.

He didn't block or stop.

Ha! Direct hit!

My grin faded as he shook his head, brushing the dust from his stomach.

How did he...!?

"Was that your best?" he asked me drably.

My mouth opened and closed a few times, but I couldn't get anything out.

"I see. I suppose it was. And now I'm going to teach you a thing or two about proper form and stamina. We'll do a test in order to bring out the best in you that way as well."

"A test...?" I echoed, clenching my fists.

He was just going to do this to me!? Asshole!

"Yes. A test. I don't mean to be excessively hard on you, but it may come out that way. I don't have a lot of time to train you, so it's going to be a little rushed. And since it's rushed, you're going to have to be a quick learner, all right?"

"What is that supposed to mean!?" I shouted, my scream echoing into the arena.

He couldn't just say that to me!

"We don't know when the last battle is going to be. You're going to have to be ready, since you're the person that's going to lead us."

I groaned internally.

Lead them?

How could I do that!?

They told me that I was the only one that was going to be able to...

I suppose I was going to have to...

They had told me that I had to...

I would.

I wouldn't let all these people down and let them die!

"Fine! Then bring it on!" I shouted, narrowing my eyes.

He grinned.

"Very well."

------------------------

"Saitou?" Aoshi asked, peering up from a paper he had just recently received.

"What is it?" The other man grumbled, pulling on his jacket.

"It's a message from Gretta."

"What's in it?" Saitou asked, walking over to the man's side. Saitou peered over his shoulders, eyes scanning the contents of the letter.

"It's talking about the Trilogy. They're questioning citizens about a... new incident..."

"A new incident?"

---------------------------

I laid on the ground, panting in and out heavily.

My body ached.

Fuck...

He really hadn't gone easy on me at all...

Asshole...

I closed my eyes and just heaved a few more deep breaths, ignorant of the world around me.

It didn't matter...

As soon as I regained my bearings I would teach that fucking robot a thing or two about how I played... and I was going to win this time around!!

-- or at least that's what I would have preferred to day.

I knew that no matter what, he was going to kick my ass...

I hadn't thought that he would be that good... but truth be told, I think he's fucking amazing.

And I meant that...

He kicked my ass and showed me my place like it was nothing...

And there was nothing that I could do...

Nothing at all.

"Get up. We're going to head back." The robot's voice firmly stated.

I rolled my eyes and tried to pull my body up from the floor.

Which was a lot fucking easier said than done...

A lot.

I stood up carefully, my frame shaking as I did so...

It hurt....

Asshole.

Kenshin froze for a moment, and I heard a beeping sound coming from him.

What the hell was that?

"Sanosuke... we have to go now..."

I blinked.

"What? Why?"

"Now!" His voice screamed, hauling me up, my eyes were wide the whole time he dragged me back to the base...

------------------

End of part 11 


	12. Chapter Twelve

Notes: You guys out there rock! I'm hoping that you're digging this :) Thanks so much for all the comments!! :D

Warnings: Sano/Kenshin hints, creepy-deja vu factor...

Hell of a Long Way Home

By: Emmy

Part 12

"Hajime? Hajime?" I called through the empty hall while I entered HQ again.

"Hajime?"

"Sh." I heard, and then turned around to see a hand on my shoulder.

I twitched, the robot's hand on my shoulder. I looked around. 

What was he shushing me for?

"What?" I snapped, a little agitated that he was telling me just what to do now. He had already beaten the crap out of me and I could barely move, but now he had to shut me up?

At least he wasn't shutting me up the way he had before…

I don't know why, but I was blushing slightly at the thought.

Why did I have to think of something like that now?

"Just… stay quite. Do you hear that?" He asked, pushing ahead of me.

I just froze.

Hear what?

Silence was burning through my ears and I strained to hear something.

What was it?

"Hey, robot, ya gonna tell me just what --?"

I was cut off as his hand seized my mouth.

I struggled against his grip. 

Jerk!

Let me go!

"Shut up, Sano! Shut up and listen!"

I tried to pull away from him, only to be knocked down on the wooden floor of the entry way his grip on me not slackening.

What was going on!?

But then I heard it.

A familiar scratching…

Scratching…

Scratching…

What was that?

It was getting louder.

I tried to pull away so I could say something - anything!

What the hell was that?!

It was getting closer… closer still…

I yelped through Kenshin's hand as a cloud of dust and sparks became the remains of a door in front of us. The remains of a door…

What was it!?

"Don't move, Sano, don't move…" Kenshin soothed under his breathe.

Too bad it wasn't so soothing…!

The dust faded and the trudging of claws, claws dragging across the floor were louder than ever…

It had broken down the door…

What was going on!?

"Don't move… don't move…" Kenshin kept telling me…but this time, his hand was away from my mouth, and then on my neck.

"Ken… shin?" I asked, my voice hollow.

His delicate little hand then squeezed down on my wind pipe, choking me, cutting off my air.

I choked as another hand joined it, squeezing down.

"Kenshin!? Kenshin!?" I demanded, wheezing out, reaching up at the pale flesh encircling my throat.

"You little fool… you have no chance against the Trilogy… give up while you're ahead."

His hands scraped along my flesh, and I could feel the drip of blood.

"Stop! Let go! GET AWAY!!"

...

I twitched.

... everything left.

Was that a dream…?

"Sanosuke?"

I pulled up and looked at the man in front of me.

"Kenshin!?"

"Sano! What is it?"

His eyes were back to violet.

"Where are we?"

"Training grounds. You passed out, remember?"

Good… it was a dream… that had scared me beyond belief…

"We should be heading back now, the others are probably wondering just what took us so long. Although I'm sure you wouldn't care." He gave me a mischievous smile. 

I blinked.

Was that a hint?

I hint towards what?

I shook my head, a light blush painting my cheeks.

He tried to kill me! Well… at least in my dream - but that doesn't change the point that I really shouldn't be thinking out that right now… No siree, I really, really, really shouldn't have been…

He paused.

I guess I didn't answer him, and he was beginning to wonder why.

"Sano?"

I looked up again.

"Yeah?"

"Let's go."

I nodded and hauled my ass up, only to fall right back down with a loud thud.

"Oww!" I whined, my body hurt.

Kenshin looked at me and cocked his head.

"Did I really hurt you that much, Sano?"

"A little… yeah… maybe…" I groaned, my back on the ground.

I wasn't going to look up… it hurt.

"Don't tell me I'm going to have to carry you…"

"No!" I quickly snapped. "Yer not carrying me!"

He blinked, and then laughed. "A little terrified of me, Sanosuke?"

"Scared of YOU? A ROBOT?" I stressed the word and laughed. "Whatever!"

"Let's head back, all right?' Kenshin suggested with a smile and I groaned. Why did he have to act so damn cheerful!? It was pretty damned unnerving.

But the way he was looking at me all the way back...

Well -- let's just say that was a little bit more unnerving...

I shook my head as we entered the building.

It was... fucking strangely quiet...

"Hajime? Hajime?" I called through the empty hall while I entered HQ again. "Hajime?"

"Sh." I heard, and then turned around to see a hand on my shoulder. Wait -- a hand on my shoulder? Deja vu...

I twitched, and I looked around. 

What was he shushing me for? Was it the same reason he did before...?

Wait... before?

What before was there?

"What?" I snapped, a little agitated that he was telling me just what to do now. He had already beaten the crap out of me and I could barely move, but now he had to shut me up?

At least he wasn't shutting me up the way he had before… that thought... where had it come from?

Fuck -- I was blushing again...

Why did I have to think of something like that now?

"Just… stay quite. Do you hear that?" He asked, pushing ahead of me.

I just froze.

Hear what?

No...

That was when it hit me...

The dream...

Silence was burning through my ears again... of of it happening again... and I strained to hear something.

What was it?

"Hey, robot, ya gonna tell me just what --?" My words were out before I could even think of what I was talking about...

I was cut off as his hand seized my mouth. I struggled against his grip. But this time, instead of thinking about what an asshole he was, I froze. No...

LET ME GO!!

He was going to fucking strangle me!!

"Shut up, Sano! Shut up and listen!"

I tried to pull away from him, only to be knocked down on the wooden floor of the entry way, him on top of me just like last time...

What was going on!?

But then I heard it.

A familiar scratching… Goddamnit, what the fuck was it!?

Scratching…

Scratching…

What was that?

It was getting louder.

I tried to pull away my body growing more tense and, yes, terrified by the moment.

What the hell was that?!

It was getting closer… closer still…

I yelped through Kenshin's hand as a cloud of dust and sparks became the remains of a door in front of us. The remains of a door…

These memories from my dream... the door... the smoke...

What was it!? Tell me, what is it!?

"Don't move, Sano, don't move…" Kenshin soothed under his breathe.

Too bad it wasn't so soothing…!

The dust faded and the trudging of claws, claws dragging across the floor were louder than ever…

It had broken down the door…

What was going on!?

"Don't move… don't move…"

---------------------------

End of part 12 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Notes: If I had to tell everyone what Hell Of A Long Way Home was about, I could say it was about raw emotions. The emotions that I felt when I wrote it... and the emotions that catch the characters up together. I really dig writing this, and I hope you feel what the characters FEEL when you read that... all right... that sounded funny. Maybe I'm just on crack... laughs

Warnings: Sano/Saitou, more weirdness. Sano desperation.

** Hell of a Long Way Home**

By: Emmy

** Part Thirteen**

-

"Don't move... Don't move..."

His words echoed over and over in my head as I looked around to the blackness surrounding me.

This was... this was...

I looked up as Aoshi and Hajime burst through the door, and I caught the figures tackling something in the blackness. 

What the fuck...?

I tore away from Kenshin.

I had to get away...

I had to get away...

I didn't want him to fucking strangle me... Let go... LET GO!

I rolled around on the ground and Kenshin pulled away from me as if he had been burned. What the fuck...?

"Sanosuke...?"

"Let go of me!"

Kenshin shook his head, not wanting to deal with me. Instead, he spun around and looked at where Aoshi and Hajime had been. Yes - that was the thing that was important right now... whatever the fuck was going on was going on for a reason... What was it...!

"Saitou!" Kenshin shouted as I heard a screech of metal.

Metal...?

"Sano! Get away! Run!" Hajime shouted.

I had never once heard him sound so desperate. What the hell was it? 

I pulled to my feet, my eyes scanning around wildly. What was it? What was going on?

"Hajime?" I demanded, my voice cracking. What was it? "Hajime! What the fuck is going on?"

I couldn't see him... I couldn't see anyone. The dust was too high from the explosion. Explosion...? What was going on...?

"HAJIME!"

"Sanosuke! Run! Get away from here, we'll find out when this is over! Hide yourself!" He commanded, and I would be lying if I said it didn't scare the shit out of me. It did - it really did. I shook my head, fighting my weak knees and pulled away. I wasn't going to give in... Kenshin... was he going to be the one that was going to kill me if I made one foul move...? Just like what I had imagined...

I looked around, my feet faltered, but I didn't second guess Hajime.

I ran.

I ran as fast as I could, from the screeching metal...

From the voices...

From the dust and the broken memories that were... rushing back into my head...

Sanosuke...

You'll be all right...

I didn't bother with anything.

I ran.

And I ran.

And then I ran some more.

I ran to the farthest reaches of The Underground.

I needed to get away.

That's what Hajime had told me...

But as I sat here, away from everything ... and everyone... I didn't know what the fuck I was supposed to do.

And so help me god... I felt lonely.

Yes - lonely...

Ha - isn't it funny? I was not really with or without anyone that I hadn't been without before... why was this hurting me... why was this so different...? Why did it have to be something different...? I hated this... this... loneliness...

I hadn't missed it when I was so caught up I didn't even notice that it was there...

Had I ever stopped being lonely?

Or was I just distracted...?

Distracted by Saitou and the others...?

I didn't know.

I think...

I think Hajime may actually think that I was something more. Something special.

Me...? Special...?

And now, here I was, sitting down in the farthest reaches of the Underground by myself... listening to the dripping of the water from that rotting-flesh scented river dripping... dripping... dripping.

I hated it.

I would have rather have the silence raping my mind than that goddamned dripping of the river... the fucking river...

I screamed out into the night.

There wasn't anyone to hear me.

No, no one at all.

I had checked. I was as far out as I could have been...

Lost...

Alone...

...

... and lonely.

I clenched my fists and slammed against the ground. I hated this. I wanted to get out of here...

I wanted Hajime...

"Hajime..." The choked name erupted from my dry throat as I looked around, my eyes filling up with salty tears. Where was he...?

He was coming for me...?

Right...?

I buried my head back into my knees and shook my head, over and over again. I missed him... I loved him... I needed him...

Hajime...

A scream erupted into my throat, and rang throughout the canyon. At least I thought it was a canyon... it was too hard to see or even think any more... Hajime...

I squeezed my eyes shut tight and clenched my fists until I could feel lack of blood in my knuckles - there was no doubt in my mind that they were white. I paused, trying to calm my heavy breathing. I could hear...

Drip

Drip

Drip

The dripping of water... heavier than before...

And then a foul smell in the air, invading my nostrils...

Did it just happen...? Or was I too hysterical to notice it speeding up...?

What the fuck was going on...?

I shook my head and looked around, trying to see something in the constant night of the Underground.

Drip...

Drip...

And then a funnel sound, like something was taking off...

My heart skipped a beat as I recognized the sound...

The sound of rushing water...

The smell...

The river...

I panicked - where the fuck was it coming from? It was getting closer and closer... I couldn't see anything, I just... heard the noise...

I lost my breath as I felt the water at my feet, rushing between my toes and slicking the rock beneath my foot. I stood up abruptly, my bottom thoroughly soaked as well. What was going on? The water...

The water was climbing up my leg, the flow gathering quickly in current... what was I going to do...? Where could I go..? I couldn't see anything... and the mere smell was going to make it lose it... the smell of dead, decaying corpses...

I paused once more, my panicked mind freezing as I felt something snaking around one of my ankles... The water was up to my waist now... what was I going to do? The individual strings wrapped around my legs, gripping tighter, and it wasn't under I felt a large thud against my knees. 

Then I knew what it was...

The blood rushed to my face and I screamed...

Hair...

Human hair...

The hair of a dead body circling my leg. 

I kicked, and I kicked, screaming my lungs out as I tried to get it away from me, the flesh and decaying bone pounding against my leg as I tried to get it away. The size... the size of it...

It must have been a child...

I screamed louder and louder, my throat going dry as I couldn't scream anymore... but I didn't need to... the water of the river filled my mouth, now over my head. 

I was being pulled along, crashing into walls with the girl's corpse hang from my leg, her lifeless arm brushing against my foot. I flayed helplessly. Why was the river flooding...? Wasn't it drying up!

I couldn't think anymore... my oxygen-depreved brain was screaming... screaming for air...

My eyes fluttered shut, the toxic water burning. I could just... fade away now...

My body went limp...

My lungs burning...

Maybe... just maybe I didn't hallucinate the arms embracing me... maybe Hajime came for me instead of the unconsciousness that came to claim me...

Hajime...

-

End of part 


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Notes: Ahh - this is getting WAY longer than what I wanted it to be! rolls eyes I have to get into my over-all plot soon or else this is gonna be over novel length! **laughs**

Warnings: Oddness

**Hell of a Long Way Home**

By: Emmy

**Part Fifteen**

-

I awoke with a strange stinging in the back of my skull. What was going on? What was happening? I yawned and sat up, someone was behind me.

"Hey you, what's up?" I asked annoyed, I didn't want them to just stay quiet when they knew I was awake.

"The broken ceiling." The voice replied with heavy sarcasm.

It was that Shinomori guy. What did he want? Wasn't I supposed to be training with the robot?

"Why are you here?" I asked in a snippy voice. I was in a bitchy mood - I had no idea why, but I was. Maybe it was a little bit of cabin fever, I had no idea. But the point was that I was irritated, and the longer he took to respond, the more irritated I got.

I waited for him to say something, and then added, "Hey! I asked you a question!"

"Himura is resting. He needs it."

I chuckled, "What? Did the robot short-circuit?"

He glared and me and quickly stood to his feet, towering over me. He growled out at me with a good amount of anger in his voice, "Don't insult him. You will show respect to someone so high about you. You'll never be able to reach his level - Himura is a remarkable man."

I blinked.

Woah.

Guess I wasn't the only one that was in a bitchy mood too.

Weirdo here was PMS-ing too.

"All right, whatever. What happened? My head fucking hurts! I did we have a wild party last night and do I have a hang-over or what?" I grumbled, peering around the room for another good minute.

Aoshi just turned his back and walked out of the room. I head his footsteps halt as soon as he walked three steps away from my room, and then he was met with another pair of footsteps. Since the robot was obviously feeling under the weather, it must have been Hajime.

Wait...

Hajime was back?

I stood to my feet and hurried to the door way. I peered around the corner and smiled, seeing him talking with Aoshi.

"Hey! Hajime! You're back! What did ya find out, man?" I asked with a wide grin on my face.

I had no idea why, but I missed him tons. Weird.

He looked at me for a moment, and his eyes flickered. But then he glared. This was getting weirder and weirder by the moment... what was up with him? Didn't he miss me at all? All right... suit yourself.

"As soon as Himura is better, you'll be training with him, all right?" Hajime asked politely, but indifferently. It was like we weren't even friends anymore.

Hell, his loss.

"Fine, fine. Like, combat training or what?" I asked with a grin.

"All types of training. Combat is, indeed, included.

"Shit, man, if I kick 'm, will he start spewin' oil?" Heh - I was being a jackass. Go me!

Aoshi glared at me again, and began to advance over to me. I started taking steps back, this guy was crazy! However, he couldn't really get too far. Hajime's hand was on his shoulder a few seconds later, pulling him back.

Pft. The guy needed some kind of anti-depressant, or anger management. He was an asshole.

"When will the robot be back on his feet and ready for action?" I asked, trying to drain any other sarcasm or harsh tones from my voice before I approached the two again. They really didn't seem to be in the best of moods, and I wanted to make it out of here with my head intact. They gave me the impression they were gonna fucking blow up at any time! Hell if I wanted to be there to witness it!

Aoshi looked down to the ground, almost sad. I kinda figured there was something going on between him and Kenshin. Just the way they were - it felt like something was up with them.

"I have no idea... I'm going to check on him now." Aoshi stated, and turned his back to leave us. But before he did, he turned to Saitou and stated something that I couldn't catch. Then he was gone.

I cocked my head at Hajime.

"What was that all about?"

"Nothing."

Well, aren't we talkative.

"How did it go?"

"I'll tell you later."

He turned to walk away, and I groaned.

"Hey! Aren't you gonna say anything to me? Why the hell are you being so fucking distant?"

It was seriously pissing me off! What the fuck was his problem?

He turned around and looked at me for a few moments. He just stared at me as if he was searching inside my head. It made me hot under the collar... why was he looking at me like that! There was something in his face... something in his eyes that I couldn't place. But then the moment he opened his mouth, everything cooled to bitter indifference.

What the fuck was that all about?

"I'm not being distant. There was nothing between us in the first place."

"Hey! I thought we were at least friends!" I growled out, and stalked toward him.

This shit was bugging me!

He moved away, as if I was fire and he didn't want to be touched.

"Sanosuke. You need to calm down. Battousai will be up shortly, and then you will need to learn as much as you can, as soon as you can. Things are... getting significantly worse and we can't waste anymore time. From here on out, things are going to become terrible, and we have to expect the worst. Trust no one, especially Battousai. There's more to him than meets the eye." Hajime told me all this with a straight face, and then turned his back and retreated.

What did all this mean?

And if there was something more about the robot, why the hell was I training with him?

I stood there in the hall, more than a little crestfallen.

I had no idea what the fuck I was supposed to do! What was getting worse? What was happening? Why did my body ache so much and...

... and why were there tears falling from my eyes...?

I felt sadness... but I had no idea why...

Something about Hajime walking away from me... but it didn't bother me... it didn't bother me in the least. I had no reason to be sad, he was just being a prick. He was doing his job but still...

... the tears kept flowing...

I shook my head and just decided to follow him, wiping the wetness from my face.

My eyes scanned around the inside of the building. There were burn marks everywhere... what had happened to it while I was asleep?

... How long has I been asleep?

The place was practically in ruins, and I had no idea why...

I followed Hajime into a room, he didn't seem to mind that I was following behind him like a stray dog. He didn't even seem to mind in the least.

The room smelled like kerosene, but then again it didn't surprise me.

The robot was laying down in the middle of the room, sleeping, with Aoshi squeezing his hand like a mother watching over a child.

"What happened to him anyway?" I whispered, walking up along Saitou.

Saitou threw a glance over his shoulder at me.

"He's just... tired."

Kenshin jerked around a little in his sleep, taking in some sharp breathes.

Damn! He was having spasms... or at least that's what it looked like from where I was.

Shit... I felt sorry for the guy...

He twisted around a little more, and then looked up, his eyes dull for a moment, but then the life came back. Aoshi breathed a sigh of relief and I couldn't figure out why. Was he in that bad of condition?

Kenshin spoke to Aoshi for a moment, and then turned around to me.

"We need to begin training immediately... let's go."

I nodded and followed, Saitou escorted us as well. Last I knew, it was only going to be Kenshin and I, but Saitou insisted on going. It didn't really matter to me, but it was weird to have him watching me like he did.

He watched Kenshin too, but not with the same look. It was like he was slightly paranoid about the robot... I couldn't figure out why. And he wasn't telling me anything.

-

I could feel my muscles harden to steel-like strength over time. It had been a little under a month before Kenshin would let me spar with him, but when we did the matches were far from even. I managed to make incredible progress over the time, and we were preparing as fast as we could. I guess everything was becoming dire, and we needed to take action.

I heard Kenshin calling out in the nights, and I heard screams from his room. It scared me from time to time, especially when the outbursts became more regular, but there wasn't anything I could do about it.

I had strange dreams from time to time of things that I couldn't explain - night terrors if you will. I didn't know what to do about them, I guess you can't really control your dreams.

I was getting afraid of what was coming up, because I knew the day would be arriving soon when we'd have to face the Trilogy, but I knew that when we did, I would be ready.

I figured that for a long time, but when Kenshin confronted me and told me straight out that the day was set up for tomorrow night, I panicked. I didn't want to... I didn't know what to do, and that meant that tomorrow night, I wasn't only going to have to have mastered the Key... but the Trilogy too...

Fuck... this was it.

-

End of part 15


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Notes: I'm so sorry it's been such a long time since I updated! I'm at college now, and I have an internet connection so I'll be uploading a lot more now! I LOVE YOU ALL!

Warnings: The usual ;)

Hell of a Long Way Home

By: Emmy

Part Sixteen

-----------------------

I watched the ceiling fan spin around... and around... and around. I didn't want to have to do it... I didn't want to have to deal with what was coming up...

We had decided when to move, we had everything planned out down to the minute... but the first thing that I needed to do was get the Key. No way in hell I was ready for that thing yet! Just thinking about the metal insect crawling and splitting open my throat makes me want to throw up all over again.

I sat up from the bed and took a deep breath as I heard footsteps outside the door. Light footsteps, not made by light weight, but from creeping. But everything subsided as I heard a loud thud crack along the floor, and then a moan.

A strangely feminine moan...

I flew to my feet and threw open the door, racing out to the hallway.

Only... I didn't make it even that far.

The next thing I knew, there was wood up against my nose, and a thud of my own. Fuck, I had overestimated the distance! I looked to my feet and what I had tripped over and immediately pulled away with a horrified expression on my face.

There, what I had tripped over was a body.

A beaten, torn body of Kaoru Kamiya.

She hadn't gotten far, had she?

Her bones were visible along patches of ravaged skin, and I thought that I could see more muscle tissue visibly torn out... her face as a mess. Tears everywhere, nothing clean, all dirty. In more ways then one.

There was sand and grim packed in the gashes, dried with blood, but coated in more of the new blood flowing. She was more than a mess... she was on the verge of death, if she wasn't already. I hadn't gotten up the nerve to touch her... I didn't wanna fuckin' touch her!

So I did the first thing that came to mind.

"Get the fuck in here, you goddamn fuckin' robot!"

Yeah. What a chicken-shit, I know.

In a matter of seconds, Kenshin was running in, asking slightly annoyed, "What is it, Sano--" but was quickly cut off as his question was answered. "Oh my god. How did she get in here!"

"I don't care about how she got in here! I wanna know what the fuck did this to her!"

Kenshin rushed down to the girls side as I squeamishly pulled away even a bit more. It was disgusting, how brutal this was. Had it been from the Triology?

Kenshin roughly pushed her to her back and tore open her shirt. Her torso covered with lacerations, and her breasts nearly cut off, Kenshin felt along one wound that caught his eye. It was deep in her left breath, right over her heart, and he pulled something deep out of her. Something rusty... and blood-covered.

And something metallic.

"Kenshin, what is it!" I demanded, my voice growing more frantic by the minute. He just kept pulling, and pulling, the thing coiled up and, by the time it was complete out, about three feet long. "Damnit! Kenshin!"

"The Key did this. It's going rampant." He looked up at me. "Sanosuke. We need to take care of this right now, no more waiting around. Now."

I shook my head, "Look what it did the this bitch! You think that I can actually--"

"It doesn't matter if you 'actually' can or not. YOU master the Key. It does NOT master you. Sanosuke, you have to take charge! The time is now, no more waiting, no more second guessing! Blood has never been spilled in The Underground! If we don't take action more is going to, until the city is overflowing with blood, and washes the people out! We're leaving now." He stood up abruptly, grabbed my hand, and aggressively pulled me to my feet.

"Wait! Damnit, stop! How the fuck to we even know where it's at!"

"/We/ don't know where it's at. /You/ do."

"No, really, I'm pretty sure I don't." I tried, but had to follow him through the hall, unwillingly. He had a fucking hard grip... and there was no escaping this now.

"Aoshi!" Kenshin shot over to another room, "There is a girl outside of Sanosuke's room. See if you can save her."

The tall man opened the door and leaned out. "Save her? What are you talking about, Battousai! What happened."

"I'll explain when we get back, if you're not sure after you look at the body. But I'm confident you'll know right away. Look at what we found in her chest laying next to her of the floor!"

All the words they exchanged were in a mass-rush as we passed through the front door. I looked out into the lamp-lit city and, for a moment, I stopped. Leaning his back up along once of the light posts was Saitou, quietly reading a book. He looked up at me, and for a moment, our eyes met.

There was something there, but I hadn't the fucking slightest idea what it was. I frowned at him, "What are you lookin' at?"

It may have came out as more of a bark than I had intended it to, but I didn't really care. I was in a bitchy enough mood enough. He could yell at me more when I got back. But what surprised me was the fact that he didn't give me a snide remark back. He just... watched me as I walked away with a sad expression on his face. Damn. Hope I didn't hurt the fucker's feelings.

Oh well, that's his fault for being a pussy. Here I was... committing suicide.

"Sanosuke. Do you feel it?"

I glared, "Feeling fucking what? I feel like I'm being dragged onto to death hunt by a fucking psycho robot, if that's what you mean!"

"Shut up. Think! What do you feel! Can you feel a pull, an intuition, a heat? Anything?"

"No! I don't feel any--"

I stopped and my vision blurred. I staggered as I walked a few more steps and then clenched my fists.

I felt it...

Power.

Unbelievable power... and fear.

"Sanosuke? Sanosuke, what is it?"

I let out a breathless, "Yeah," and waited until something became clearer.

I shook my head, a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"...The river..."

"Then let's go!" He commanded, grabbing my hand and pulling me forward.

"No! Not to the fucking river! I don't wanna fucking go there!"

"You have to!" Kenshin snapped.

"I- can't!"

Kenshin reached out and aggressively grabbed my arm, pulling me roughly like a sack of potatoes. "Now! We have to go now!"

My eyes watered as if I was staring at the sun from three feet away. There was heat... being washed over by the cool sting of death. I wasn't going... not back to the river... I pushed my feet into the ground, not allowing myself to being pulled any further by that bastard. He didn't understand about the river - it would be the end of me, it would never led to anything good, just more death. And that's the reason why the key must have been there.

But still, he continued to pull...

"You're being a selfish brat! Keep moving, we can't stop, we need to keep going! It will reveal our location, it will kill innocents, all of this continuing, getting worse, until we can stop it! And you're the only one that has the power to do that! YOU gave birth to it!"

I slackened my restrain and gave in. He was right... it was only me that could do something about this. And this was the reason I had been training for weeks, months, even. I hadn't been keeping track of time very well. Everything just seemed to blend together in a mix of fear, pain, and discipline. That's all I could do right now... and at this exact moment, it was time to prove my worth.

It was time to begin what I was supposed to be doing.

I took in a deep breath and started the sprint along Kenshin's side. If this was the last time that I would be able to breath in the air of the underground, so be it. I needed to be responsible... and that's what I was doing.

We sped past the light posts on the outskirts of the small town, and I could feel the air getting thicker, and all these feelings inside me getting stronger. Fog... fog from the water... it encased the cavern as we ran closer. And it wasn't too long until I couldn't see at all.

"K-Kenshin..." came my unsteady breath. "Where are you? I can... I can't see a fucking thing...!"

I jumped as I felt a hand rest of my waist, but our pace did not slacken. We were running straight into darkness. I sure hoped that he knew where he was going, because I didn't... I didn't know how close the river was... I didn't know how close we were to the Key.

And then we stopped abruptly.

"Kenshin?"

Silence, but there was still that hand on my hip.

"Kenshin?" My voice was growing in desperation, why the fuck wasn't he answering me!

There was a muggy silence as I twisted the arm at my waist.

"Sano..." I finally heard his voice say. "You're on your own..."

--------------

End of part


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Notes: Hey guys! It's been WAY too long since I've posted a part, so I'm hooking you up with TWO! I haven't done much fic writing in a while, but I'm gonna be working on this, so I hope you haven't forgotten about me!! L I love you all! Promise! ;) I know I got a little weird with the parts and the titles, but this IS sixteen, and the other one is fifteen… my bad :P

Warnings:

**Hell of a Long Way Home**

By: Emmy

**Part Sixteen **

-----------------------------

My world was black, as I often found it nowadays. But this was not as common... Everything around me was silent, I couldn't even hear Kenshin... did robots even breathe? I felt his hand... but I didn't hear anything from him... not a flicker of a step, not a heartbeat, nothing. I was on my own?

Fuck. _It_ was here...

----------------------------

Breaths in heaves...

Cutting edges, drinking my own blood as it flowed everywhere...

Oil. Oil seeping into my veins...

Punctures deep into my chest...

Fever boiling my veins as equilibrium attacks...

Pain... pain dwindling as my core is shaking...

Stinging ache in my skull as I lay flat on my back, weight holding me down in tiny pin-pricks...

Fear collecting over my body, resonating in echoes into my empty brain... all I can do is feel…

…Feel the pain, overwhelming, hurt, throbbing, irritation, sex with a knife...

I screamed, letting everything out, but that didn't was the worst thing I could have done... the second that I did that, I felt metal, pouring back into me, scratching and tearing my tongue and throat, going back down...

Only this time, there was much, much more than one...

There had to be at least a thousand of small, penny-sized creatures forcing me to swallow them whole. I couldn't breathe... I couldn't breathe... The black room was feeling darker as my mind was slowly slipping away...

"saNOsKe?"

There was a sketchy voice...

But it was coming from my own, torn, hoarse throat. The creatures... they had manipulated my voice box...?

Of course I was listening... I couldn't do anything but listen, I just hope those fuckers hurried before I totally faded away...

"yoU GAvE us BirTH, yeT YoU can'T conTrol US - YOU caLl YouRselF a PROFICisED cHIld? RidiCULouS. saY sOmeTHiNG, YOU sILLy boY. WhAt do You EVen HavE to LIVE FoR? You JuSt lAY therE, DyinG, SOakinG uP yOUr OWn BloOD, aND do NothING? YoU ARen'T fiT TO coNtiNUE AnYThing In THIs WoRLD. EvEN ThAt AssASSiN gIrL GavE MOrE of A FIghT thAN you. hAVE yoU NoTHing TO sAY, WrETCH?"

My mind shook with rage, but my body remained immobile. What was I supposed to do?! Kick the shit out of myself and this... thing inside me!?

I writhed in place, this being the first movement I had made by myself in a while. This hurt so much... the stabbing pain digging deeper and deeper into my chest... I struggled, trying to scream out, but I couldn't grab hold of my body.

Pressure was building; I was so close to snapping... and exploding into one last burst of death and anguish. Something I bore was hurting me?

Was killing me?

I wanted to laugh. Only, instead of laughing, it all came out in a gargantuan explosion.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!"

Voices hissed around me, demanding.

hoW CAn he SpEAK?

THe boY IS sTiLL ConsciOus?!

he SHouLd BE MuTE!

Swirling around in utter chaos, I clenched my fists and spitting out through my teeth.

I was... I was regaining control!

More voices, growling through my head.

hE's DoINg it!

ThIS liTtLE bRAt AcTUALLy haS tHE WilL-poweR, ThE ConTROl!?

THe wIlL tO LiVE?!

And that's when my entire world, as it constantly does, faded, again, to black.

--------------------------------

"Sanosuke! Sanosuke!" I heard a voice shouting at me, and I couldn't get it to go away. I wanted it to shut up!

"Sanosuke!!"

I rose to my feet, involuntarily, but my eyes remained closed. It wasn't until that moment, with my feet firmly planted on the ground that I felt the power...

Power.

Surging through my entire being, sucking on me, capturing my core.

"Kenshin..." was all I was going to be able to get out.

"Sanosuke... you did it."

---------------------------

Saitou was waiting around, tapping his foot in an agitated, yet worried manner, as he waited for Sanosuke to come back. He knew the instant he looked at that girl's body what had happened. She tried to release the Key, but instead she unleashed disaster. She was on the brink of death, Aoshi was currently nursing her wounds, but she had lost too much blood. It would have been worthless to give an assassin, who came to murder /them/ a transfusion.

Just suicide all over again...

The hours passed and Saitou remained restless, seated by the door, looking out the window. Was the boy even ready for something like this?

He may have bore it, but seeing how devastating it was to look at Kaoru's body, there didn't seem to be much hope for the boy.

Saitou clenched his fists with an angry groan.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Aoshi asked, piping in from behind the man. His voice may have been placid, but it was reassuring.

Saitou peered over his shoulder, "How is the girl's condition?"

"Currently, she's comatose. Her condition will either improve, or fall apart within the hour. Any word from Sanosuke or Kenshin?" Aoshi asked in return, remembering that Saitou had been the last one to see them, and had also attempted to look around for them.

"No luck. No one really saw them, and the few that did said something impossible." Saitou stated, digging his hands into his pockets.

"What did they say?" Aoshi echoed.

"They dove into the river."

"Oh."

"But, like I said, it's impossible. I checked the system and Battousai's vitals are very good. The only thing that showed us a bit of concern was a racing heartbeat, which is better than a falling one. Battousai would give his life before Sano, as the chosen one, would become hurt."

"Naturally, I figured as much. It's just ironic that the only thing damaged in Battousai's recent... accident, was his tracking device. However, it still troubles me that they aren't back yet..."

--------------------------------

I swaggered as I walked closer to the door, Kenshin following my every footstep.

The first thing that I had heard was 'troubles me that they aren't back yet.'

It made me laugh. And I laughed out loud, a large grin swiping across my face.

"Hey, where's the party, 'cause 'm right here!" I threw open the door with an abrupt, slightly maniacal laugh. "So what about me?"

I felt so high, shit, this was such a crazy rush! I could do anything! I could do whatever the hell I wanted!

"Sanosuke!" Saitou watched me with a very alarmed expression.

"Yeah, what're you so excited about? I mean, I did what I was supposed to do, right? I worked my ass off, and finally got what I deserved!" I know I sounded diabolical to them, I felt it, and therefore, I lived it! Saitou, Saitou, Saitou. What are we going to do with you?

"What do you mean, Sanosuke?"

I grinned more, pulling, no, I tore my shirt apart, exposing my new chest

Eyes around the room widened as my flesh, blood, and metal.

"Sa-Sanosuke?" Aoshi stuttered out. "Is that...?"

"The Key."

----------------------------

End of part


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Notes: Here ya go! Part 17! Enjoy J Normal grossness, by the way J

Hell Of A Long Way Home

By: Emmy

Part Seventeen

-----------------------------

This body was something so real, something so great. But it seemed to startle my friends. I didn't blame them. The spider-like being was planted on my torso as one, we walked. Its six legs were embedded deep into my chest, piercing through my body, retracting into my back as a metal base. We were now one and the world faded away.

It was cutting, spanning out like metals winds that carried me so high in this insane madness!

"He's partially mechanical now. I will help him make this change; I know it all too well." Kenshin stated, coming up from the rear.

I laughed, how ridiculous.

"There is no comparison. You were made from man-made materials and parts... but this...!" I stroked my hand along the circular mass gripping into me. "This is me as a God. I created it, I conquered it!"

Aoshi looked over to Saitou for some kind of answer. Of course he didn't have one, the bastard didn't have anything. What was he expecting? A Key of his own?

"Sanosuke - Battousai, Kodachi and myself are going to be out next to the river, we need to clean the new bodies out - You get some rest and we will discuss our strategies from there." Saitou stated, and exited almost immediately. The robot and Aoshi were quick to follow, trying to vacate the room as soon as they could. Fuck, it wasn't as if those fucking corpses were going anywhere. I frowned. How anti-climatic was that? What the fuck was wrong with them?

"Sure. Whatever." I hastily commented and turned my back. Whatever. I was going back to my room, those bastards didn't know what I had become, they were jealous. I was so much more than them...

---------------------

I was in my room, sleeping, that was until I heard a knock sound at my door. Well, I should say I had woken up before the knock, I felt my chest clench as the Key gave my heart a squeeze as some sort of alarm. I was out of bed, and at the door in a flash. I was just that good. Heh.

I pulled it open and was greeted with a scowling face. But this bastard was always scowling...

"I thought you had bodies to trash." I stated like a smart ass, hands on my hips, refusing to vacate the doorway.

"You idiot, that was three days ago." He growled.

I flinched. "Don't fuck with me! I'm not that fucking stupid!"

"I'm not saying you are, but I AM saying that your body isn't taking this as well as your haughty attitude. You needed rest, you needed to get back the health you lost, and you're lucky! It took Battousai a complete month to accept his parts." He shot right back.

"Whatever! I'm not Kenshin! I'm better! I am amazing!"

"And that's what we need to talk about."

I froze. What was he talking about?

After taking that extra moment, I flinched and brushed it off. "Yeah, I know it's pretty cool and I know yer pissed off because you're not the top dog around here anymore, but deal with it. Up yours, fuck you, man!" I snapped, and at that point, he shoved me into the room, slamming the door shut behind us. What was he doing?!

"Sanosuke. Listen to me, and listen to me good. That damn thing might have been created within you, but it's not who you are. It's creating chemical imbalances in your brain, just like Battousai, but instead of insanity, it induces aggression, and you can't go on like this! You need to gain control of yourself and move forward, you can't fight the Trilogy as a crazed, blood-thirsty killer. That what _they_ are, that's it! They couldn't control the Key, it controlled them! Is any of this getting through to you?!"

I glared, furious, "How the fuck can't I hear you?! You've been ranting and raving for too long, you idiot! I can't get through to say shit! You don't know what the fuck yer talking about! I AM in fucking control!" He was so goddamn stupid! What the hell!?

The next thing I knew was the man knocking me down to the floor, but the claws from my back retracted to catch my fall, metal hissing as it snagged up against the stone floor. I growled, kicking my feet up at him, but I missed.

What?!

How could I fucking miss?!

I glared up, him pinning me to the ground.

"You're still nothing, do you understand?! And if you chose to be an fucker, then we don't need you as the chosen one, I will personally kill you."

I had never heard him talk like that, he almost scared me.

Almost.

"Get off me now, you sick asshole."

"You're not worthy of the Key."

He swiftly moved off me, and left promptly.

I laid there on the ground, heart racing. Why was I bothered?! He couldn't touch me!!

... then why did I let him...?

----------------------

My mind for the next hour was overcome with thought and one-way conversation. I hated this, I was tired of being powerless, and now that I had finally done something about it, he was there to stop me. I couldn't deal with it!

I was tired of Hajime Saitou being treated like he was so untouchable!

I was sick of it! And it would be up to me to do something about it.

I made up my mind and began to plan - this wasn't something I was going to take lightly, this was absolute…

------------------------

I planned from the morning to the middle of the night, and it was then that I figured out exactly what I was going to do. I knew their agenda day in and day out, I was so familiar with everything that went on around here, it was uncanny.

I made my way, utterly silent, though the hallways, my senses sharper than they had ever been before. But something that caught my attention was a loudly pounding heartbeat in a shadow very close to me.

I followed it, and was lead to a bed, matted with dry blood, and an equally bloody girl lying atop it.

Hm. The assassin. So she was still alive? That greatly surprised me. I moved closer, only one candle in the room to show a shallow figure, but it was enough. Sinking down on the mattress, I brought my hand up to the side of her face and stroked her cheek. Poor girl. Even though she had come here to murder me in cold blood…

I chuckled aloud. "Shoulda killed her when I had the chance."

I stopped, my mouth falling slightly agape.

Did I just say that?

Her eyes opened as I was attempting to figure out these things in my head.

She watched me for a moment, eyes dull and strained. Man, the Key really fucked her over. And now it was inside me.

It took her a moment to register, but when she did, her eyes ignited with pure fear.

I laughed as she screamed a hoarse, raspy sound, and, without warning, I clasped my hand over her mouth and nose, suffocating her slowly. It was so amusing to watch her twist and try to kick, eyes wide and screams muffled.

Her teeth aggressively gnawed at my hand, but she couldn't hurt me. No one could.

Her eyes rolled back, her body limp, and her struggle ended, I removed my hand and began to stroke her pale skin, right where I had been before her eyes darted open.

Killing that girl was entertaining. I loved having life to lend at my fingertips. Now to do what I came here to do. Take care of business.

I walked down the hall, smell of death in the air.

I walked right for Saitou's room, still trying to muffle my laughs. Everything was hilarious!

His door was unlocked, like always, I thought to myself just where that cockiness was going to get him. Dead, I knew that much.

I didn't need a weapon; my entire body was a weapon, and the most deadly thing I the world was inside me right now. I pulled open the door, my eyes flashing around in the black room. I didn't care if he knew of my presence now, what I wanted more than anything was more blood.

"What is it you're doing out of your room so late, Sanosuke?" A voice asked from the other side of the room, where I wasn't looking.

I turned around and slapped my hands on top of my thighs. "Well, shit! Just thought I'd take a little walk, why ya gotta be so damn bitchy?"

"You're in my room. I was just asking a question." He fired snidely.

"Whatever, you shouldn't be so paranoid. What if I just came in here to fuck, or something?" I said with a huge laugh. The thing that worried me is the face that he didn't come back with an immediate snap. In all honesty, he looked almost anticipate.

"Woah! What are you?! A sick freak! It was just a fucking joke, ya know what this is, right?! Fucko!" It was me that immediately retorted to my own joke. What was with this guy?! Crazy!

"What are you here for?"

I advanced, wasting now more time, snatching him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him forward. "I want to see your blood pour everywhere." I roughly jerked him closer and clamped my mouth down on his ear, sucking in all the sweet, sweet liquid. He hissed and pulled me away, but I moved too quickly and grabbed a fistful of his hair. I jerked his head down right onto my knee, and smiled as it hit with a force that should have cracked it. I was expecting brains to be leaking out at any second.

He fell backwards and flat onto his spine, teeth clenched, and head bloody.

I chuckled, "Damn, thought that woulda killed ya. Guess I'll have to try harder."

I lunged down to the floor, straddling the man with my elbows digging into his chest and my hands around his throat.

He didn't move for a moment, his eyes on me.

I just smiled and tightened my grip, until no more breath flowed from his throat, growling out, "Don't look at me, you sick bastard…"

His body fell limp.

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End of chapter


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